Mystic Force: The Sun's Destiny
by thunderyoshi
Summary: Ari has been back in Briarwood for over a year, and life has returned to normal. Except that Ari's powers continue to grow. When she and her friends volunteer to help an old man, Ari discovers more about herself than she ever expected, as everything that she considers normal in her life starts to change.
1. Broken Spell Part 1

**Welcome to Mystic Force: The Sun's Destiny! I decided to post the first chapter now, mostly out of excitement for you guys reading it!**

**I hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Broken Spell Part 1

"Look out!"

"Watch where you're going kid!" people dodged out of the way as a figure on a skateboard shot down the street, pushing to move faster and faster as people let out irritated yells as the teenager on the board shouted apologies back at them. She turned down a street and down into a shop, jumping off her board and stumbling into the shop.

"I'm not late, I swear!" she yelled, pulling off her helmet. Long black hair fell down around her shoulders and was pushed out of her face as the other four workers looked up, looking amused.

"Yeah Ari, cause you're _never _late," Vida smirked as the girl lifted her board, which was rolling past.

"Exactly!" Ari broke into a wide smile as she looked to the girl with short hair. She ignored the clock on the wall that clearly stated that the 18 year old was 15 minutes late, and tossed her belongings into the back.

It had been over a year since the Dino Thunder Power Rangers had defeated Mesogog, and Ari had graduated from Reefside High and returned to Briarwood, getting a job in Rock Porium with her friends, finally living a slightly normal life after two years of being a Power Ranger. Of course, her Dino Powers hadn't disappeared, nor had her years of training as a Sun Ninja.

The time passed quickly for the lazy workers, who chose to do what they wanted instead of cleaning the shop like their boss had requested. Music filled the air as Vida stood behind the decks, and her sister recorded her and the others.

"So how was Blue Bay Harbour?" Xander asked as Ari fell onto the sofa and opened the book she had brought with her.

"Fun as always. We finally managed to get Cam on a proper bike," Ari grinned as she talked about her last trip to see her friends, who had gathered for Dustin's birthday. "Fell over like straight away. I thought Blake was going to have a stroke," she laughed as she opened her book.

"En garde fiend!" she looked up to see Chip brandishing a rolled up newspaper. As he lunged for her, Ari leapt over the back of the sofa and grabbed two of her own.

"Oh Chip, you know you can't beat me," she teased as the red-haired boy pushed his cape back.

"Today shall be different!" he decided, running around the sofa to face her. Ever since Ari had joined in on his 'sword-fighting' during a particularly dull day, Chip had challenged her to see if he could beat her. Naturally, he hadn't.

"Sword-fighting again guys?" Maddie smiled as she recorded the two. Ari glanced to her and winked, before disarming Chip in one quick move. "You gotta tell us how you can do that sometime," Maddie shook her head as Chip pouted. Ari just laughed and shrugged, returning to her seat. Catching Xander's eye, she grinned at her best friend and returned to her book. The Australian was the only one who knew about Ari's secret identities. "Toby!" they all looked around quickly to find their boss standing in the doorway. He wore a wetsuit, goggles and a snorkel, and was dripping wet.

"Nice snorkel boss," everyone rushed over to him, and Toby slapped Xander's hand as he poked it.

"Weren't you taking the day off today?" Vida raised an eyebrow as she stood by her sister. Toby attempted to speak, before remembering to pull the snorkel out of his mouth.

"Yes I-" he stopped, and yanked the whole thing off his head. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I was at the beach, snorkelling with the little fishies, and one swam right up to my mask!" the five tried not to laugh as he spoke. "And he looked at me, with these big fish eyes, and he said..." Toby then smushed his face together with his hands. "'Are your employees cleaning the store like they said they would do?' Now, I have to go back to the water, back to the reef, find the fish...and say...'no'," he grumbled as they tried to stop laughing.

"Why don't you relax, boss?" Xander smiled at the irritated man. "Take a breather. I'll gather the troops, assign them things to do. Sweep the floor, stock the merchandise, put out the trash, etc etc," he told them, and the remaining three rolled their eyes.

"Oh, you mean...do the jobs I pay you for? Guys!" frustrated, Toby went into his office and slammed the door.

"Alright, you head the man, snap to it! Chip, grab a broom. Madison, deal with the stock, Ari can take care of the customers, and Vida, throw out the trash. Snap, snap!" Xander ushered them before returning to his seat.

"How come you get the easy job?" Maddie grumbled to Ari as she went behind the counter.

"Because Xander knows what would happen if he tried to make me put out the trash," Ari answered, looking innocent as she set her book on the counter and stretched. The last time he had tried, he had ended up face down on the ground with Ari refusing to let him up. Vida stormed over to Xander to attempt to make him work, while Ari just started reading, knowing it was useless.

The ground started to shake, making them all stumble in surprise.

"Earthquake!" Xander yelled, and they all moved to get under cover.

"It's the end of the world!" Chip declared with an excited grin. "Just kidding," he laughed, and was pulled under the counter by Ari and Maddie.

"Don't panic!" Toby yelled as he emerged from his office. "Don't panic! Remember the safety procedures! Get under a desk!" he dove back into his office and his door slammed shut. After a moment, the quake finally subsided, and the employees crawled out from their cover.

"Is it over?" Maddie asked hopefully as she looked around.

"I'm alive!" Chip cheered with a grin.

"For now...Toby's gonna kill us though..." Ari commented as she leaned on the counter. "The store is a total mess now," everyone groaned as they took a look at it. Everything had fallen from the shelves.

"I thought it was bad before..." Vida muttered.

"Well, the good news is, the worst is over," Xander told them, holding his helmet in his hands.

"Worst my butt..." Ari muttered. "Now we have to clean even more..." she complained, looking around the shop, shaking her head.

1-2-3-4-5

"After narrowly escaping death, the human species copes with it in different ways," Maddie spoke as she started filming herself and her friends as they took a break. "Some use physical activity," she turned the camera on Xander and Ari as they skateboarded around. "Some listen to music," Maddie turned to her sister, who was sitting in the back of her jeep listening to music as she read a magazine. "And some eat," she moved over to Chip. "Tell me, Chip Thorn, what type of pizza are you eating?" she asked the boy.

"Shrimp, chicken, pepperoni, cheese, and chocolate marshmallows," he told her as he shoved a marshmallow into his mouth.

"A fine example of the non-human species," Maddie told her camera, looking disgusted.

"I want pizza now..." Ari complained as her stomach grumbled. "Though definitely not that stuff," she shivered at the thought of going near Chip's pizza.

"Somebody please, help me!" they looked around quickly as an old man cried out. "Please, someone. Anyone! I need help," he pleaded, and they rushed over to the man. A crowd began to gather as he looked around helplessly. "It's my brother! We were walking just up the road, and some creature grabbed him! I fear the worst!" everyone was frowning as he spoke. "It's just out of town! A creature took him into the woods," most of the crowd immediately backed up and walked away.

"Can you imagine that Ari?" Xander nudged the girl beside him. "Him asking for someone to go into the woods..." when he didn't get a response, he looked down at her to see her watching the old man with a strange expression. "Ari?" he frowned, recognising the look.

"Won't somebody please help me?" the old man pleaded. Shrugging Xander off, Ari stepped forwards.

"I will," she volunteered, but found that her voice was not the only one. She glanced around to see a young man crouched beside his bike. Those who weren't looking at Ari, looked to the stranger. "I could use a break," he shrugged, looking up.

"Thank you," the man sighed, grateful as the stranger glanced to Ari while the others looked wary. Ari followed the old man as he walked over to him, before Xander took a few steps.

"Hey," he smiled at the boy as he caught Ari's wrist. "I'm Xander. You're new around here, aren't you? Probably not aware of all the facts," Xander told him as the boy pulled on his jacket. "And there's just one. If you go into those woods-"

"You don't come out again," Ari finished for him, rolling her eyes.

"I heard about it," the boy replied. "The guy needs help. No-one else in this city except for your girlfriend there seems to care," he glanced to Ari, who looked up at Xander quickly as he glanced down at her. He let go of her wrist as both tried not to laugh.

"I'll go with you," Vida volunteered quickly, shooting Xander a frown. "Not everyone in this city is a coward," she growled as she looked to the rest of the crowd with a scowl.

"I'll go too!" Chip stepped forward, looking excited. "I've always wanted to go on a dangerous quest! This is a dangerous quest, right?" he glanced to Vida with a small frown.

"Perilous," Vida replied dryly.

"Sweet!" Chip cheered.

"Well, let's go," the stranger decided, and the four followed the old man. Ari waved to Xander and Maddie, before hurrying to catch up with the others.

1-2-3-4-5

Reaching the entrance to the woods where the old man had told them his brother had been taken, Chip was bouncing with excitement. Ari was almost as excited to finally check out the mysterious place, but hid it better than her friend.

"Are you sure you're willing to enter?" the old man asked as they stood at the entrance. "The woods are a very scary place," he told them.

"You ask a lot of questions for someone whose brother's in danger," the stranger frowned at him.

"Everyone's in danger," the old man responded.

"Everyone's in danger? Oh, yeah!" Chip cheered, smiling widely.

"I doubt it's something we can't handle," Ari shrugged, before they heard a loud beep. They turned to see Xander and Maddie driving in Vida's jeep, waving to them as they approached.

"Xander! I told you if you _ever _took my car I'd rearrange your limbs," Vida yelled angrily at him.

"You're going into the woods and never returning," Xander shrugged, not looking the slightest bit guilty. Ari just laughed at him. "As if you're ever going to see it again," he commented as he and Maddie climbed out and walked over.

"He's got a point," Chip shrugged, earning a glare from his best friend.

"You're my sister. Where you go...I go," Maddie told her. Her reluctance made Ari giggle as Xander stood beside her and put a hand on her head.

"And so there is six..." the old man whispered, stopping Ari's giggles as she looked around, wondering just what he meant. He started walking again, and they all followed him, looking around the eerie woods as they entered.

"It's creepy out here..." Maddie complained after a while.

"Got that right," Xander agreed.

"It's not so bad," Ari shrugged, earning a couple of stares. "What?" she looked at Maddie and Xander, raising an eyebrow. As the trees began to change from straight to gnarled, Maddie shivered.

"What was that?" they all glanced around at her as she stopped. "I felt something...something weird..." the shy girl told them with a confused frown.

"Wait...where's the old man?" the stranger was the first to notice that the one supposedly leading the rescue mission had disappeared.

"Ten seconds in the woods and we're already lost!" Chip's excitement only seemed to increase. "All right!" he cheered, laughing. Ari's excitement however had died a little as she looked around. The old man's words about everyone being in danger, as well as his comment on their number, remained on her mind as they began walking to try and find their way out. "And not just trolls, goblins and elves live in the woods too!" Chip was going on about what he believed to be in the woods. "I've also heard that a witch lives here! She's hideous, with green skin and a black tongue with yellow drool that slowly drips from the corner of her mouth when she speaks," he continued on with a grin.

"Well I hope that if any of this isn't true, it's that," Ari looked mildly disgusted as she walked behind him.

"You've been reading too many fairy tales, friend," the stranger lingered at the back of the group. "Guys, there's no such thing as witches!" he told them as they turned to look at him, and froze. When he saw their reaction, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, ok. So now you're playing with me," he sighed. "Oh,someone's behind me. I'm so scared! Boo!" he mocked.

"There _is _someone behind you!" Vida insisted. The boy's smirk dropped, and he looked around to see what they saw. A figure dressed in a black cloak that hid them from sight. He let out a cry of surprise and stumbled backwards to the others as the figure moved towards them.

"Anybody want to run?" Maddie gulped.

"Already tried, but my feet won't move," Xander shook his head as even Ari stared with wide eyes. The figure stopped as several creatures suddenly rushed towards them, making the figure stop.

"She brought friends!" Vida cried as they looked around. Before anyone else could react, Ari walked forwards, towards them. "What are you doing?" Vida demanded as Ari was quickly surrounded by the strange creatures. The girl didn't respond as she put her hands behind her back and smiled.

"So, who's first?" she asked the creatures, tilting her head. They grunted and snarled, clearly confused by her behaviour. Finally one launched at her, and as the others gave alarmed shouts, Ari dodged it easily. With one quick motion, she slammed her foot into its back, and the monster went flying. The grunting and snarling intensified in their anger, and more of the creatures ran at Ari. She dodged their moves easily, tripping them and knocking them into each other.

"She's amazing..." Chip gaped as they watched Ari take the creatures down with ease. Even the woman in black seemed stunned as Ari stood in the middle of the fallen creatures.

"If you want to take me on, try bigger numbers," she told them quietly, but as she went to walk back over to the others, more appeared from the bushes and she stopped. "Oh, I totally didn't mean that," Ari fell back into her fighting stance, but she knew there were too many for her to take on with her martial arts alone. At this rate she were going to have to use her powers.

"_Mysto Aerotan_!" the woman in black suddenly raised something, and as the creatures ran at Ari again, something caught her from behind and lifted her into the air as the same thing happened to the others. They let out yells as they flew through the air, before being dropped nearby a tree that was much larger than the rest. While most landing on their faces, Ari landed on her feet.

"Ok, so, new guy, now you know why no-one goes into these woods," Xander grunted at the stranger.

"Name's Nick," the boy replied, and looked to Ari. "And isn't anyone going to question how she fought them off?" he questioned.

"I went to a school for martial arts. Graduated when I was 15," Ari smiled innocently. The others nodded, shrugging a little when Nick looked at them as if to confirm her words.

"What is this place?" Vida questioned as she saw a large dragon head that had been carved into the tree.

"I call it Rootcore," the woman reappeared, and they backed away quickly, straight into the mouth of the dragon as it closed.

The six fell into a dark room, barely managing to stay on their feet. "I thought it best you were brought here," they looked up to see the woman again, standing on a higher level as she looked down on them.

"Hi, I'm Xander," the boy smiled and raised a hand. "It's a really nice place you got here. It's really...woody..." he knocked on a desk. Ari looked around, sensing the same comfort that came from both Ninja Ops, and Doctor Oliver's lab basement that had served as their headquarters. The woman didn't respond, instead raising a hand as white lights sparked from it, and the broomsticks that had carried them there reappeared.

"I am the sorceress Udonna," the woman lifted her black cloak to reveal herself. She had long red hair and wore all white. "Welcome to my home," she smiled at them. The place lit up, revealing itself completely.

"Wow...this is awesome!" Chip was beaming as he looked around at what was like a dream come true for him.

"When the six of you entered the forest, you stepped into a magical dimension," Udonna told them softly.

"A parallel dimension outside of Briarwood," Chip looked to the others. "Do we live in a great city, or what?" he grinned widely.

"This means I've proved Cam wrong!" Ari suddenly cheered, making the others jump. "You seriously don't understand what a big deal it is to prove him wrong," she shrugged, going red.

"A few years ago," they spun around again as Udonna reappeared behind them. "There was a great battle in our world. Dark magic conquered our realm and was about to enter your dimension, when we finally defeated them and sent them back to the Underworld," she told them, before turning away. "But at a great cost..." she whispered. "The gate was sealed with a powerful spell. However, during the recent earthquake, a crack appeared in the gate, and evil has slipped through," she explained to them.

"Remember me? Xander," the skateboarder spoke up. "Look, I'm just wondering, what does that have to do with us?" he asked as Udonna blinked at him.

"It could mean the end for both our worlds," Udonna told them.

"Please, none of us are buying this fairytale!" Nick spoke up at last.

"This is not a fairytale," Udonna told him sharply. "What I tell you, _is _what happened," Nick scoffed at her words.

"Guys," he looked to the others, but they shrugged at him.

"Hey, let's hear what she has to say," Vida suggested to him with a smile. "We can always leave after that," she pointed out. Nick rolled his eyes, but chose to do so.

"The Xenotome," they glanced back over to where Udonna now stood. "The book of the unknown. In it, is everything we do not know," she explained as they walked over to her.

"What kind of language is that? I've never seen it before," Maddie frowned as writing appeared on the page.

"It is the language of the ancients," Udonna smiled at the curious girl. "You will soon learn it. It says that when evil rises again, six mystical warriors from the human realm will step forward. _You _are those warriors," she explained as Nick frowned even more. "You...are the Power Rangers," she told them. There was a short silence, before Ari burst out laughing. "This is no laughing matter," Udonna frowned at her.

"I know...I'm sorry," Ari laughed as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"Excuse me, but there must be some mistake," Xander shook his head as Ari tried to stop laughing. "How are _we _gonna defeat pure evil? Our high school hasn't even won a football game in, like, six years," he commented.

"Speak for yourself," Ari finally managed to calm down, straightening up as she wiped away the tears.

"Traitor," Xander nudged her, and Ari shrugged.

"Not my fault I had to switch schools," she commented. Udonna was watching Ari curiously, as if she found her familiar, but dismissed it.

"These are your magic wands," Udonna held up six wands similar to the one she had held back in the forest. She passed them out, giving Chip a yellow one, Maddie a blue one, Vida one with a pink butterfly, Xander a green one, Ari one with a gold top, and Nick one on red. "Never go anywhere without them," she instructed as they all lit up.

"Udonna!" a girl suddenly ran into view. "Udonna!" she ran up to the sorceress, before pausing. "Oh, hello," she spoke as she noticed the six standing there. "Nice to meet you! Excuse me. Udonna," she turned back to the sorceress and whispered in her ear.

"You must stay here until I return," Udonna suddenly told them. "Do not go into the woods by yourselves," she instructed, before snapping her fingers and disappearing in a flash of white lights. Ari frowned, finding the way she disappeared very familiar.

"Wish I could do that..." the girl tried snapping her fingers. "I practise and I practise but...nothing!" she complained, before remembering that she wasn't alone. "Oh, hello again. I'm Claire, sorceress in training here at Rootcore," the girl introduced herself with a smile.

"Ok, that's it, I'm outta here," Nick decided.

"Oh, no, you can't go!" Claire stopped them as they went to leave. "Udonna said you had to stay here till she returned!" she told them with wide eyes.

"We all better go," Maddie spoke up, which flustered the girl even more.

"Oh, this is not good," Claire shook her head. "I know! I will conjure a spell that will freeze you where you stand until Udonna gets back!" she decided. They all backed away, frowning at her. She spoke strange words, and a light shone in her hand, but instead of freezing the group, it changed her into a sheep.

"Awesome!" Ari laughed as the others quickly set their wands down and rushed out. "Hey, wait for me!" Ari followed them, taking her wand with her.

1-2-3-4-5

"Come on," Nick led the way as they hurried through the forest, trying to find a way out. They slowed to a stop as they saw what seemed to be a small village, which had been thoroughly trashed.

"Look..." Vida breathed as strange creatures wandered around, cleaning up and tending to the injured.

"Who are they?" Xander wondered, before seeing the wand still in Ari's hands. "Did you have to bring that with you?" he frowned at her, and Ari shrugged.

"She said not to leave without it. Not the first one either..." she mused as she thought back to both Sensei and Doctor Oliver telling her the same about her previous morphers.

"I should have known you wouldn't stay at Rootcore," Udonna smiled as she walked over.

"What happened here?" Maddie asked curiously.

"Woodland Village was destroyed," Udonna's smile dropped as she spoke gravely. "Tomorrow it will be another village. The darkness destroys everything within their path until they find what they want," she told them.

"What are they looking for?" Chip asked.

"Me," Udonna admitted with a sigh. "And then they will go after you," she warned them, and they looked alarmed at the thought.

"Hold on just a sec," Nick spoke up, seeming to becoming increasingly more irritated. "I never agreed to be part of this," he complained, before the villages seemed to notice them.

"It is them! It is them!" one cried out happily. "The protectors are here!" he yelled. "Hail the Mystic Force!" they bowed before the teenagers.

"Always wondered what it would be like to be worshipped," Xander commented. "It's not so bad," he grinned.

"_You _do not need the ego boost," Ari hit him lightly with her wand, making him laugh. The ground suddenly shook, and they looked up to see a massive monster towering over them.

"Ok...that's bad," Xander summed up as they backed away. The villagers all fled, screaming.

"Take out your wands!" Udonna barked at them.

"We kind of left them back at the tree," Chip admitted.

"Except me!" Ari held up hers with a smile. "Told you," she stuck out her tongue at Xander, who rolled his eyes.

"Alright, stand back," Udonna ordered as she turned to face the monster. "Follow my lead," she instructed Ari, who shrugged and stepped forwards. "You leave me no choice," Udonna told the monster as she drew her own wand. "MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" Udonna morphed into a white suit. "Flurry of Snow! White Mystic Ranger!" she chanted, holding her Snow Staff.

"Now that's cool," Vida grinned as she stared at her. Udonna ran to fight the monster as they watched.

"Now it's my turn," Ari held up her own wand, but as she went to morph, more of the creatures from before surrounded them. "Oh come on!" she complained, backing up as the Hidiacs moved towards them.

"Well, as I see it, we have two choices. We can surrender and be destroyed..."

"Or fight?" Maddie finished for Chip, looking incredulous.

"We fight," Nick agreed.

"No, there's a third option," Xander stopped him. "Plan Xander. I'll just reason with them," he grinned.

"Xander, how many times have I told you that Plan Xander never works," Ari tried to stop him.

"Well if it doesn't, then it's a good thing you're here," he grinned at her, and stepped forwards. "Hi, I'm Xander. We're not really from these parts, so if it's ok with you we'll just be heading off-" as expected, the monsters didn't listen, and Ari intercepted a kick and knocked the Hidiac back.

"I told you," Ari frowned at him.

"And like I said, it's a good thing you're here," he grinned back. "Guess we fight," they all stood together and faced the monsters, only to be blasted off their feet, causing Ari to drop her wand. The Hidiacs ran at them, and Ari pushed up, fighting off the ones that surrounded her. Seeing that the others were distracted with their own fights, Ari held up a hand. The air shimmered between her and the Hidiacs, and as they went to hit Ari, they slammed into her shield and were thrown back.

Despite the use of her powers, Ari was being quickly overwhelmed by the monsters that had realised that she was currently their biggest threat. Most of them concentrated on her, and her shield was quickly being chipped away.

"It had to be a cloudy day today," she complained, before the shield shattered. She managed to block an attack and send one flying with a well placed energy-ball, before she was knocked to the ground.

"Just remember!" Udonna called as she saw them all being thrown about like rag dolls. " To use magic, all you need to do is believe in magic!" she told them.

"What the heck does that mean?" Ari frowned, back-flipping to dodge another attack. She let another energy-ball fly, but the lack of sun meant that her Dino Powers weren't at full power.

"Guys! The magic really works!" she heard Chip yell nearby. "Just believe!" he yelled. Ari looked around as she formed another shield, and saw vines shoot out from a tree around Xander, taking out the Hidiacs. When Maddie caused water to burst up and take out the ones attacking her, Ari grinned.

"I believe in magic!" she called as her shield shattered again. A warm, familiar feeling filled Ari, and her eyes widened. The sun broke through the clouds, shining brightly around Ari, and when it cleared, the Hidiacs had turned to dust. "Sun magic huh? Now there's a surprise," Ari laughed, retrieving her wand. She looked up as Vida became a tornado, sending the Hidiacs flying. Udonna took out the monster, before coming to Nick's rescue as he was thrown through the air. She demorphed, and everyone regrouped.

"Well, well, very nice," she nodded in approval. "You truly are the ones. Are you up to the task?" Udonna asked them. "Are you now ready to accept your legacy?" she asked them.

"Oh yeah! Bring it on!" Chip nodded.

"I'm in!" Vida agreed as she stood by him. "I kicked some serious evil back there," Udonna smiled at their eagerness.

"This is so unlike me, but I'm sticking with my sister," Maddie decided as she stepped forwards too.

"Someone's gotta look after these guys, right?" Xander grinned as he spoke up. Ari giggled, and elbowed him.

"And someone has gotta keep an eye on Xander," he ruffled her hair as she spoke. They looked over at Nick as he rubbed his neck. He looked up at them, and frowned.

"Me? No way," he brushed the dirt from his clothes. "I'm out of here," he told them with a scowl, making their smiles drop.

"Are you sure this is what you choose?" Udonna asked as she walked over to them.

"Look. The 'I believe in magic' thing, it didn't work for me," he told them as he fixed his jacket.

"Try believing again," Maddie suggested with a small smile. "Maybe it didn't catch on the first time?" she tried, but Udonna shook her head with a small smile.

"He is a non-believer," she told them sadly. "I can do nothing for him. Claire will see you out of the woods safely," Udonna said to Nick. "Claire!" she called for her apprentice as the others remained silent.

"Here I am!" Claire bleated as she came into view, still in sheep form.

"Oh my dear child," Udonna laughed as she saw her. "When _will_ you get your spells right? See him safe passage out of the woods," she instructed the girl.

"Yes Udonna," Claire bleated, and led Nick off. A noise behind them made the remaining six turn around quickly to see a figure in purple armour.

"You may have defeated my Hidiacs, but you'll not defeat me," he spoke as he drew his sword. "Wolf Attack!" his shield opened and red light shot at the group, blasting them off their feet. "It is the end for you," he told them, and laughed as they looked up at him.

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**The next chapter will be up on possibly tomorrow night or Monday.**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!**

**Please review!**


	2. Broken Spell Part 2

**Wow, I honestly didn't expect such a reaction to starting this fic! Getting so many reviews, as well as favourites and follows, has really boosted my confidence in this series!**

**I hope you enjoy the second chapter too!**

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Chapter 2: Broken Spell Part 2

The strange dark knight that had appeared walked towards the fallen group as they looked up at him.

"On your feet," he ordered as he stood in front of them.

"Why, so you can knock us off them again?" Ari grumbled, but got to her feet.

"Darkness has come," the knight ignored her words.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Maddie gulped as she looked to the others.

"I do not know you warrior," Udonna spoke as she surveyed the knight warily. "But if it's a battle you want, I am ready to fight," she told him.

"Hold on, let me try and reason with him," Xander suggested. "Hi. The name's Xander," he took a few steps forwards as he spoke, but Ari grabbed him and stopped him moving any closer. The Knight was incredibly powerful. She could feel it.

"I am Koragg, the Knight Wolf," the knight sheathed his sword. He then chanted loudly, and a massive purple seal appeared on the ground. "Rise up from your depth!" Koragg called as a Zord-sized horse appeared.

"So much for reasoning," Xander gulped as Koragg cast another spell. He grew to a much greater size, and combined with the horse.

"Power of the Centaur!" he called.

"A Centaur! A real Centaur!" Chip stared up at it. "I want one!" he declared.

"Maybe one that's not planning on killing us," Ari suggested as Udonna stepped forwards.

"You are now just pebbles under my hooves," Koragg laughed mockingly down at them.

"Get back!" Udonna ordered the others. "You are not ready to fight his kind," she told them. "I am," she stated as she drew her wand.

"There's no problem here," Xander nodded as they all looked up. Ari bit her lip, wanting to help. However, without a Zord or anything, there was nothing she could do. "He's all yours!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" she morphed, and cast a spell to grow to a much larger size. She fought Koragg, but as Ari thought, he was incredibly powerful.

"Darkness destroys light," Koragg told her, overpowering the sorceress and kicking her back with his front legs.

"Have I seen you before, Wizard? You are too familiar," Udonna questioned as she fought him back with her staff.

"And you too, Witch," Koragg agreed. "But that will not stop me from destroying you," he warned. "Behold the eye of the Master!" he blasted her with his shield, and slammed into her with his lance. "You are defeated," he stated as she fell, returning to her true size and demorphing.

"Udonna!" Maddie cried, and they ran to the fallen sorceress. Koragg returned to his normal size, and walked over to the Snow Staff, which lay nearby. Before he reached it, however, Ari stepped in the way, raising her arms.

"Out of the way girl. I merely seek that staff," he ordered, but Ari shook her head.

"No," she told him firmly. "You're not getting it," she growled.

"Ari no!" Xander yelled, but she shook her head at him as he went to run over.

"Get back, you can't fight him!" Maddie pleaded, but Ari ignored her as they all stared in horror at her.

"You cannot beat me girl. The darkness will triumph," Koragg told her, but Ari just smiled slightly.

"I've been told that a lot. But the sun's still shining, isn't it?" she lifted her wand. "So let's try this. MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" she morphed into a gold suit that had a long cape, and a sun across the helmet. "Bright as the Sun! Gold Mystic Ranger!" she called as the others stared at her.

"You may have the power of the Mystics, but it is not enough to beat me," Koragg drew his sword.

"Magi Staff, Sword mode!" Ari drew her staff and changed it into a sword, which duplicated. She held them backwards as she moved into her fighting stance. "I do hope you're not underestimating me, Koragg," she commented, before rushing at him. The loud clash of metal hitting metal rang through the air, and the others watched as Ari fought Koragg with speed that only Xander had seen her demonstrate before. They were surprised when Ari ducked under his blade and knocked it out of his hand. However, they were even more stunned when she stopped.

"What are you doing Ari? Finish him!" Vida yelled, but Ari shook her head.

"Pick it up. I won't fight you without your sword," she told him softly. Koragg let out a confused growl, but lifted his sword. As soon as he did, he blocked with it as Ari leapt at him.

"You have honour and more skill than I expected, Gold Mystic. But that was luck!" Koragg let out a yell and threw Ari back. "You won't have another chance to defeat me," he told her as Ari dodged his strike and kept moving. However, Koragg slammed into her with his shield, and Ari stumbled backwards as he hit her arm, forcing her to drop one of her swords as pain exploded in her wrist. She kept moving, striking with her other sword, but he blocked with his shield and pushed it back, before catching her across the front with his sword. She went flying backwards, and as she hit the ground, her suit shattered, and she rolled along the ground before lying still. Her weapons disappeared in flashes of gold as she looked up.

"Ari!" Xander rushed over to her as she tried to push herself up, but her left wrist was in agony, while the rest of her body was hurting to a slightly lesser extent. The Australian helped her into a sitting position, before glancing up at Koragg as he lifted the Snow Staff.

"Because of the honour you demonstrated in that battle, I will spare your lives," Koragg spoke as he sheathed his sword and turned to the group. "But know this. You will witness the terror and destruction that unfolds on your land. Remember this day. You will wish it was your last," he told the group, before disappearing through another spell seal.

1-2-3-4-5

"Without my Snow Staff, I cannot fight any more," Udonna said to the group as they stood in Rootcore. Ari sat on the desk as Xander bandaged her sprained wrist, not having said a word since Koragg had disappeared. "But I can still train you. I can teach you the ways of magic," she told them, and Maddie, Chip and Vida smiled excitedly.

"You ok?" Xander asked the girl quietly as she just watched him work. With the amount of times they'd both injured themselves skating, he'd learned how to take care of it.

"I'm sorry..." Ari mumbled, still not looking up.

"Why?" Xander frowned as he continued working on it.

"For earlier. I nearly got myself killed," Ari mumbled. "And for nothing. He still got Udonna's staff..." she mumbled, her head dropping even more.

"It wasn't for nothing," she looked up quickly, tears lingering in her eyes. "You tried, and that was better than the rest of us," Xander pointed out.

"Because I had my wand and morphing is basically like riding a bike. You really never forget how to do it," Ari shrugged. Her gaze returned to her hand, and Xander sighed.

"Exactly, you had your morpher. You're far more capable of saving the world," he told her, and poked her forehead to make her look up. "You've already proved that, now haven't you?" he grinned at her, and Ari couldn't help but give a small smile back. "I do have to ask though, why didn't you use your powers on him? I mean, now that we're Rangers too, you could probably tell th-"

"I did use my powers," Ari's smile dropped as she spoke softly. "He broke through my shield like it was nothing. Granted it's not the best day and it was snowing and I'd already used my powers against those other monsters...but still," her voice quivered a little. "I don't want to tell them," she mumbled, making him frown. "I've already let them down once today. If they know...if they know I've been a Ranger before...their expectations would make it worse if I messed up again..." she sighed.

"Ari, I don't get to say this very often but...you're an idiot," Xander laughed, and made her look up at him. "That's not gonna happen. Especially with me there to make you look better," he grinned, and Ari laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"If you say so. I'm still 99.9% sure I make you look better though," she replied as he finished bandaging her wrist. "Thanks Xander," Ari smiled at her best friend, who messed up her hair in response.

"Ari, you gotta teach me some of those moves," Chip bounded over as soon as she jumped off the table.

"Did you really learn that stuff from that school you went to?" Maddie asked curiously as she, Vida and Udonna looked over.

"Yeah, but the Ranger suit helps with strength and some of the speed," Ari blushed they all watched her.

"The suit will grant you the ability to fight as well," Udonna told the others, and Chip let out a cheer.

"Nowhere near as good as me though," Ari smirked.

"We'll see," Vida promised, making the Gold Ranger laugh.

"Claire!" Udonna turned her head.

"Coming!" Claire bleated as she ran into the main room of Rootcore, still a sheep.

"Oh child," Udonna laughed, getting to her feet. She chanted a few words, and Claire returned to her human form.

"Why didn't you do that before?" Claire complained from the ground. "Do you know how warm it was in all that wool?"

"If I do everything for you, then how will you ever learn?" Udonna questioned as the others laughed. Claire scrambled to her feet, brushing her hair from her face. "This time, go nowhere without them," Udonna passed the others their wands as Claire walked over.

"We already learned our lesson," Xander nodded as he took his. "But, to tell you the truth, walking around town...carrying a wand...well, it may be good for Chip, but..." he trailed off as Chip started waving his around. The others laughed, and Claire nodded to Udonna, who smiled.

"Very well," she nodded, and cast a spell that changed all of their wands into what looked like phones. "I hope you find these more to your generation's liking," Udonna told them as they opened them and studied them with grins.

"Cell phones. Very cool," Vida nodded her approval.

"They are your Mystic Morphers," Udonna explained. "They are activated by spell codes that you will learn along the journey. Now go back to the city, live your normal lives, and wait until you're needed," she told them as they wondered just what kind of codes they would learn. "Remember, there is evil everywhere. And you would be best served speaking to no-one of what has happened," she told them. Ari shoved her morpher into her pocket as she knew exactly what that meant. Another secret identity to add to the list.

"Oh, I can show them out of the woods," Claire offered with a smile.

"No," Udonna shook her head as she looked to the sorceress in training. "They must find their own way. Just remember, the trees are your passage," she told them cryptically, making them frown in confusion.

1-2-3-4-5

"How could a tree be our...passage?" the group of five walked through the forest, wondering just how they would get out, and just what Udonna had meant. It was quickly explained, however, as Chip touched the tree, and proceeded to be sucked into it with a yell. A second later he reappeared, eyes wide. "Whoa guys, it's so cool! Touch the tree and bam! Flying through roots, branches, stems and leaves and bark and...just think of the tree in front of the record shop, it really works!" Chip told them as he bounced excitedly.

"No, no, there is no way that this -" Xander touched the tree as he scoffed, and was pulled through it.

"Oh, I wanna try!" Ari ran over and touched the tree, and the next thing she knew she was falling straight into Xander. Before either could try and stop themselves from falling, Vida, Maddie and Chip fell through and they all fell to the ground. "How about next time we move out of the way of the tree, and don't go all at once?" Ari suggested with a laugh, and they all got to their feet. Pretending like nothing had happened, they walked back over to Rock Porium, where Toby was staring at them.

"Hey, did you guys just...from the tree?" their boss demanded, but they all shrugged, looking blank. "Never mind..." Toby shook his head, seeming to dismiss it.

"You feeling ok?" Vida asked as they walked past their very confused boss.

1-2-3-4-5

Cleaning Rock Porium was taking a lot longer than it should have, partly because all of them were too wired after the eventful morning to concentrate, and partly Ari kept knocking things over trying to lift boxes with one hand. After the fifth box fell, she had been banished to the corner to lift the fallen magazines and return them to where they had fallen from, shooting glares at the others.

"Hey, it's your own fault," Vida told her as she caught Ari's glare. The girl just stuck out her tongue and returned to what she was doing. Maddie walked back inside, having been attempting to talk to Nick.

"Ah, we're never gonna get this done," the Gold Ranger complained loudly as she placed another magazine on the shelf. "Stupid earthquake..." she grumbled. "I've saved the world twice and yet I'm still stuck doing lame jobs," she complained to herself, too quietly for the others to hear.

"So what kinda spell codes do you think we'll learn?" Chip asked, still bouncing a little as he swept up. "Do you think we'll get cool weapons like Ari did?" he looked to the others.

"Cooler," Vida grinned at him.

"Hey!" Ari turned and pouted at them. "At least I know how to use my weapons!" she exclaimed, and they laughed.

"You may know how to use them, but I guarantee we'll look cooler with ours," Xander told her as he walked past, and proceeded to trip over her foot as she stuck it out. He crashed to the ground and the box he had been carrying skidded along the ground, but didn't tip over.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you saying something about looking cooler?" Ari feigned innocence as Xander looked up at her with a frown. The others were laughing as Ari tried not to smile, and failed miserably. "I mean, you're not looking very cool down there," she commented.

"Yes, very funny. Give me a hand?" Xander rolled over and held up a hand. Ari took it to help him up, and felt herself yanked down. Xander proceeded to tickle her sides, and Ari burst out laughing, flailing and trying to escape as they quickly forgot about working.

"Come on guys, we'll never get this place cleaned if you're just messing about," Maddie scolded them, but Ari's laughter just got louder, before she managed to break free and scramble away from her friend.

"Now who's not looking very cool?" he taunted, and Ari tackled him, pinning him down face first on the ground.

"That has to be you," she laughed as she sat on his back with a triumphant smile. She then looked up at Maddie, who was shaking her head as she carried a box past. "Were you saying something about cleaning Maddie?" Ari looked up innocently, before a chiming sound echoed through the shop. Raising an eyebrow, Ari lifted her morpher from the pouch clipped to her belt, before falling over as Xander managed to break free.

"Looks like cleaning will have to wait," he told the group, who nodded. They hurried out of the shop, running towards where their first proper battle was to take place.

1-2-3-4-5

The five appeared through a tree, continuing to run on for a moment before slowing down to see where they had appeared. When they stopped, they realised that their clothes had changed, giving them a uniform with cloaks. Even now, Ari's trousers cut off just below the knee, with the gold sun that was her Mystic symbol on one leg. Her waistcoat had gold lines running along, and sat open over a short sleeved shirt.

"Check out the uniforms!" Maddie laughed as she looked at her own.

"And cloaks!" Chip spun around as he cheered, and Xander was hit by his cloak. Chip grinned brightly, already loving his new uniform.

"Do you ever wear trousers?" Maddie looked to Ari as the taller girl looked at the braces on her wrists.

"Only when I was training," Ari grinned brightly at her. She had tried to get Sensei Sugiura to let her shorten her Ninja gear, but had failed miserably.

"I hate pink," Vida complained as she saw how much pink was on her uniform.

"Save it for the complaints department later Vida," Xander was the first to notice the blue spell seal that appeared nearby. "Look," he pointed to the seal, as more of the Hidiacs appeared.

"I hope everyday isn't going to be like this," Madison sighed. They ran at the Hidiacs, but the large collection was quickly overwhelming them.

"Ok, the cloaks were cool at first, but now they're just getting in the way," Ari complained as she fumbled a punch when her cloak flew in the way. She jumped back to dodge a hit, but was knocked to the ground by a kick from behind.

"She said we'd know when to use our wands!" Chip exclaimed as he was lifted from the ground. "I think this is the time!" he told the others.

"Y'think?!" Vida rolled her eyes as she was restrained as well.

"Let's ranger up!" Xander called, and they knocked away the Hidiacs around them to regroup and stand together. Pulling out their morphers from the pouches, and hit the code needed to morph.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!"

"Strong as a tree! Green Mystic Ranger!"

"Ever changing as the wind! Pink Mystic Ranger!"

"Fluid as the sea! Blue Mystic Ranger!"

"Fast as lightning! Yellow Mystic Ranger!"

"Bright as the Sun! Gold Mystic Ranger!"

Morphed and feeling the power that now filled them, the group ran at the Hidiacs and began fighting them again. Dodging the attacks from the Hidiacs that surrounded her, Ari easily blocked and fought back with one hand. She couldn't help but laugh, glad to be a Ranger again.

"You guys should have brought sunglasses, you're going to need them!" she drew her Magi Staff and held it up. It glowed golden, and the sunlight intensified around her, damaging the Hidiacs around her and sending them sprawling on the ground.

As the others took out their own opponents, they regrouped, laughing as the adrenaline rush filled them. Thunder boomed overhead and the sky suddenly went dark, making them look up quickly. Lightning flashed, and a cold wind picked up. "Now what?" Ari groaned as they looked around.

"I'm back," Koragg announced as he emerged from a purple seal.

"It's Koragg!"

"Oh great," Ari groaned, putting her good hand over her injured wrist.

"We can take him!" Vida declared confidently, which just served to make Koragg laugh.

"You can try, but you are no match," he told them coldly. "I call on my sword from the darkness!" he summoned his sword and shield, and drew his sword. "This is your end," he told them.

"Ok...now what?" Xander frowned at him.

"Now you will feel the power of dark magic!" Koragg told them. His shield opened, and the blast slammed into the Rangers, knocking them to the ground hard. "I will not be merciful this time," he told them, lifting his sword and walking towards them.

"Can't we talk this over?" Xander tried as he looked up. Koragg didn't respond, holding his sword over his head. "Guess not!" the Green Ranger gulped as Koragg let out a growl. Ari pushed herself up and hit the Knight with her Magi Staff, pushing him back. "You failed to defeat me last time, Gold Ranger, this time will not be any different," he warned her, but Ari shook her head.

"You're trying to hurt my friends, I don't care if you beat me the last time. I won't let you win!" she yelled as Koragg moved towards her. This time, Ari held up her hands and blasted him back with energy balls, knocking him back in surprise.

"You have some interesting tricks, but they are far from actually defeating me!" Ari dove to the side to dodge his retaliating swing, but he swung across, and would have hit her, had she not disappeared. "What?" he demanded as Ari reappeared by the other Rangers, falling into the leaves as her body protested.

"Oh, it's been a while since that's kicked in," she mused as she looked up.

"What the heck was that?" Vida demanded as she looked around at the Gold Ranger.

"Your guess is as good as mine V," Ari shrugged.

"You mean to say you do not realise that you are wielding powerful magic?" Koragg demanded, and Ari's eyes widened as she looked up at the Knight. "Not that it matters. You are still weak compared to me. You are doomed," Koragg held his sword over his head, ready to strike them down. "Any last words?" he asked as they tried to get up.

"Just one!" Nick's voice echoed through the trees, and he appeared on his bike, leaping off it towards Koragg. "Hyah!" his foot connected with the Knight's shield and knocked him back. Nick landed in front of the Rangers, ready to fight. "Come on!" he yelled at Koragg as he recovered.

"Now there are six..." Koragg growled as he looked up at him.

"I guess there are," Nick pulled of his helmet and grinned. "This is as good a time as ever to start believing in magic," he gulped as Koragg ran at him, sword raised. His raised his hands as Koragg swung his sword, letting out a cry, and red light appeared, blocking the hit. "I do believe in magic!" he yelled, repelling Koragg back. Red lights began to surround Nick, and when they faded, he wore a uniform like the others did. He smirked, pulling off his cloak and lifting his morpher. "MAGICAL SOURCE! MYSTIC FORCE!" Nick morphed, and wore a red suit.

"Red ranger..."

"Way to go Nick!"

"He believes!"

"Here's the Red guy!"

"Fearsome as fire! Red Mystic Ranger!"

"Prove to me your worthiness! Battle my forces!" Koragg growled as Nick stood ready to fight. "Hidiacs arise!" more of the snarling monsters appeared, ready to battle. Nick leapt into the air and landed in a clearing.

"You fight with words? So be it!" the Red Ranger drew his Magi Staff, ready to demonstrate his power. "Magi Staff! Do your thing!" Nick shouted, and his red coloured magic shot from the staff, transforming the Hidiac into a ball. "Nice! Who doesn't love soccer? Let's have some kicks!" he kicked the ball hard, and it took out several of the Hidiacs before bouncing back. Nick kicked it again, and took out even more with a small explosion as the other Rangers watched. What was left of the Hidiacs that Koragg had summoned roared angrily and rushed towards Nick as he landed. "Magi Staff! Sword Mode!" transforming his staff into a sword, Nick dodged their attacks by leaping into the air. With well placed slashes, he wiped out any Hidiac that got too close. "I summon the power of the Phoenix!" Nick shot through the remaining mutants, who were hit by the magical fire that surrounded him. "That's hot," he snapped his fingers, and the fire exploded, taking out the last of the monsters. "I guess it works after all," he commented with a grin.

"Nick! That was awesome!" Chip called as the others got to their feet and ran over.

"Mystic Force?"

"Mystic Force!" the group put their hands together in a circle, grinning as their team was finally complete.

1-2-3-4-5

Ari looked outside as Toby inspected the tree he was sure he had seen them emerge from earlier that day. When he tried walking into it and proceeded to slam his head off it, she shook her head with a laugh.

"He's still trying to get through that tree," she told the others, who shook their heads with grins.

"So how'd you mess up your arm?" Nick asked her as he leaned against the wall with a magazine.

"Better yet, how were you using magic like that?" Vida asked suspiciously as Ari laughed weakly. "First you created those weird balls, and then you teleported like Udonna can," she commented. Ari just shrugged, wondering it herself.

"I've been able to that for a few years now," she admitted as she put away records. "I don't know how, I mean I didn't know what the heck it was until Koragg said it was magic," Ari shrugged, feeling a little relieved that she now knew what it was.

"How'd you first find out?" Nick raised an eyebrow at her, and Ari paused, realising what she had said.

"There was an accident at my school, the martial arts place, and I got trapped. Next thing I know, I'm not trapped anymore," she decided to tell the truth of how the first time she had activated her powers. "I do wonder how I managed to use magic back then though..." she wondered aloud, not understanding it.

"Nick, now that we're a team, do you feel like helping?" Xander spoke up as he carried a box. Nick looked up from his magazine with a frown.

"Yeah, even Xander's working. That's a rare sight in itself," Ari teased, and earned a frown from the new Green Ranger.

"I fight soulless mutants...I don't clean," Nick just shrugged and looked back down.

"Then outta the way bucko," Vida nudged him out of the way with her elbow.

"Ok," Nick stepped aside, before grinning. "But as a wise old woman asked...do you believe in magic?" he asked.

"You think?" Vida looked around at him curiously.

"Well...I believe..." Maddie lifted her morpher and pointed it at the magazines on the ground. They shot back up onto the shelves, sorting themselves out.

"It works!" Chip laughed and used his own morpher, bringing a broom to life. "Sweep like lightning!" he cheered as Xander used his magic to carry the bin bags out the back.

"You know there's a whole story about how bringing brooms to life is a bad idea?" Ari laughed, but used her own magic to sort out the records. Vida sorted the CDs in seconds, and the shop was filled with floating items that were sorted themselves out. Nick laughed as Xander nearly hit Chip, before hearing someone approach the shop.

"Someone's coming!" he hissed to the group, and Vida quickly finished tidying the last of the boxes.

"Ok! I knew you wouldn't...uh..." Toby stopped abruptly as he saw how tidy his shop now was. "You would...it's clean...very clean...it's the cleanest it's ever been..." he managed to say. "Maybe it's too clean...maybe it's lost it's edge," he worried, making them laugh. "Have I become a megashop?" Toby worried, his eyes wide.

"Hello?" a voice called out, and they all stopped laughing and glanced around at a beautiful blonde girl who had just walked in. "I'm new in town, can somebody help me?" she asked, and instantly both Xander and Chip rushed to her, pushing each other out of the way.

"That'll be me!"

"No no, me!" Chip insisted. The girl looked at the pair with a scrutinising eye,before looking away from them and smiling.

"Um...I want...him..." she pushed the two out of the way and walked over to Nick, who glanced up from his magazine again.

"Uh, sorry, but I don't work here," Nick laughed lightly as the girl stood in front of him, smiling at him.

"You know Toby, you really gotta hire this guy!" Maddie told Toby as she indicated to Nick, whose eyes widened as he shook his head at her. "He was _instrumental _in cleaning the store," she told Toby.

"Hey, I wasn't looking for a job..." Nick scowled at her.

"Who's the greatest guitarist ever?" Toby asked.

"It's gotta be Jimmy but-" Nick shrugged, and was cut off quickly.

"You're hired," Toby told him firmly, and shook his hands. "Now help the customer," he instructed as the others tried to hide their laughter. Ari didn't even try to hide it. Toby walked away as the girl walked up to Nick and took his hand.

"My name's Leelee...and yours?" she asked as Nick struggled to argue, but failed miserably.

"I'm in trouble..." Nick looked around at the others, who laughed even harder.

* * *

**The next chapter will be introducing a new character, and I'll be posting that when I finish another chapter, so either tomorrow or on Tuesday.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think!**

**Please review!**


	3. Lunar Knight

**Once again, thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows! You guys are awesome and keep me inspired!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Lunar Knight

Looking up from the counter, Vida saw Chip following Ari through the shop pleading with her as she returned CDs to where they were supposed to be.

"Please Ari," he begged as she tried not to laugh.

"For the hundredth time Chip, no," she told him without looking around at him.

"What's going on there?" Nick asked as he stood beside Vida, watching the pair as Ari continued to tell the Yellow Ranger no.

"He's trying to get her to teach him how to fight like she does," Vida shook her head. Ari was openly laughing by this point, finishing putting away the CDs and moving on, closely followed by the eager boy.

"Ok Chip, I'll teach you," finally she turned to face Chip, but there was a mischievous glimmer in her eyes as she smiled at him. "_If_, you can beat me in a sword fight," she grabbed the broom, and brandished it like a weapon.

"Uh, no thanks," Chip quickly ran off, but Ari followed.

"But I'll only use one weapon!" she called as she laughed, chasing him around the shop.

"V, help!" Chip pleaded as the others laughed at him.

"No way, you brought this on yourself," Vida told him as he ran past.

"If you can't even face me, how can you face the forces of evil Chip?" Ari teased, continuing to chase him, before Xander walked out of the back with a large box, and she collided with him.

"Haven't I told you not to run around here?" Xander groaned from the ground as Ari pushed herself up. Laughing, Chip made his escape and hid from Ari.

"Sorry Xander," she offered a small smile as she helped him up.

"Don't even try that, I know that trick," he warned her as she looked apologetic.

"There's no trick, I am really sorry," Ari insisted, her green eyes wide. Xander just rolled his eyes and put his hand over her face, holding onto her to stop her from continuing. "Hey, let me go," she giggled, but he shook his head.

"Nick, since you're new and all, we should warn you," he turned to the Red Ranger, who was watching with a quirked eyebrow. "If Ari ever does something bad, don't look at her. She is a demon with the power to make people do what she wants," Xander warned, and Ari tried to look upset, despite her eyes still being covered.

"You know Xander, that really hurts," she told him, but he kept a steady grip on her as she laughed.

"That would be so much more believable if you weren't laughing," he told her.

"You sure they aren't a couple?" Nick glanced to Vida as Ari tried to escape. Vida glanced up from her magazine, and sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't even get me started on that," she told him, going back to her magazine. When their morphers chimed, all of them looked up, and hurried out to deal with the latest problem in the forest.

1-2-3-4-5

The six Rangers ran through the forest towards where Udonna had told them where there was dark magic gathering. They spotted a group of Hidiacs nearby, while Koragg stood with them watching.

"Let's get this over with guys!" Nick called to his team, who nodded as they slowed to a stop. "Ready?" he called as they drew their morphers.

"Ready!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they morphed into their respective suits and ran to meet the monsters waiting for them.

"I will not let you stand in the way of the darkness," Koragg told them as he drew his sword. Nick met him with his own sword, letting out a small growl.

"You don't get a choice!" the fire wizard told him with a growl. Ari joined him, fighting off the powerful knight as the rest of the group handled the Hidiacs. While her wrist had almost completely healed, it was still too soon for her to fight with it, which meant she was fighting with her staff. Koragg managed to defend against both, pushing them both back.

"Is this truly all you have to offer?" Koragg scoffed. "Pathetic!" he held up his shield, and the pair were blasted to the ground.

"Not even close!" Nick forced himself up and ran at Koragg again. As the Knight blocked his attack, Ari rammed into him and knocked his shield out of the way with her sword, and both kicked him, knocking him backwards. However, as he caught himself, he blasted them again and they hit the ground hard.

"You are good, but not good enough," Koragg told them, before he was hit by attacks from the other four Rangers.

"What about us?" Xander called as they stood in front of Ari and Nick.

"Even together you won't win!" Koragg's shield opened again and hit them all much harder, knocking them all to the ground.

"He's so powerful..." Maddie groaned as she tried to get up.

"Not...powerful...enough," Ari pushed herself up, her suit sparking a little.

"Why do you continue to get up girl? You've proven twice that you cannot defeat me. Even with others by your side, you are still weak," Koragg told her, and tears stung at Ari's eyes.

"I won't give up. Even if you're way stronger than me, I won't let you harm anyone," she told him firmly, holding her staff tightly.

"She's not weak," Nick spoke as he got up too. "None of us are!" he yelled at Koragg. The others voiced their agreement as they pushed themselves up. Koragg sighed, and held up his shield to blast them again, only for something to hit him in the head.

"Honestly, I go away for a few weeks and all hell breaks loose. Literally," a woman in silver armour similar to the Ranger's suits stood with a whip in her hand. The other Rangers stared at her as she walked towards the battle. "I recommend you leave now wizard, before you taste the power of the moon," the mysterious woman threatened, but Koragg let out a snarl.

"I do not take orders from you, witch," he told her, and she let out a small laugh, flicking her whip again. It wrapped around Koragg's sword, and with barely registered speed, the woman shot at him. Her boot slammed into his helmet, knocking him backwards as she flipped and landed on her feet. Koragg swung his sword at her, but she dodged it and caught him with a spinning kick.

"She said the moon. Is she from the Academy?" Xander whispered to Ari, who shook her head.

"Her fighting style is definitely not that of a moon ninja," she told him, fascinated by the woman who was easily avoiding Koragg's moves and fighting him off.

"This isn't the end, witch!" Koragg warned, disappearing through a seal.

"Knew that would get him to leave," the woman chuckled, and turned to the Rangers. "So, you're the Mystic Force I've heard about. Not bad," she commented, walking over to them.

"Who are you?" Nick asked her curiously.

"I'm Althea. A friend of Udonna's. When I got word that the darkness had returned, I came back to help," she explained lightly. "And you are?" Althea tilted her head as she spoke. Nick glanced to the others, and nodded, and they all demorphed.

"I'm Nick, that's Vida, Xander, Chip, Ari, and Maddie," he introduced the group, but as Althea looked at them all, she paused on Ari.

"That necklace..." Althea was in front of Ari in a second, lifting the golden griffin necklace that had fallen out from under her shirt. Althea then looked up at Ari, as if stunned. "Meraki?" she questioned, and Ari raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked, not understanding what Althea meant. The silver armour around the woman shattered, and revealed an older woman with waist-length brown hair, and bright green eyes behind a pair of glasses. She wore a silver and black tunic and flared black trousers.

"Whoa..." Chip was the only one able to slightly speak as they stared at the woman who bore a very strong resemblance to Ari. The Gold Ranger stared at the woman whose eyes were exactly like hers.

"Who...are you?" Ari asked in a small voice. Tears formed in Althea's eyes as she managed a small smile.

"Your mother," she spoke in a shaky laugh, and Ari tensed. For a moment, she didn't react, and then she yanked her necklace out of Althea's grip, turned, and ran off into the forest as quickly as she could.

"I'll go after her," Xander volunteered, chasing after his best friend.

"Running away huh? Definitely my daughter," Althea laughed as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "So, shall we get back to Rootcore until she calms down?" she looked to the other four, who stared at her with wide eyes.

1-1-1-1-1

"Ari would you stop running?" Xander called after Ari, who was irritatingly quick. She stopped abruptly, and the Green Ranger ran past her, slowing to a stop. He turned to the Gold Ranger, whose eyes were wide as her breath came out in short pants. "Ari?" he put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him.

"Ok, I know my life is _far _from normal. I've been a Ranger three times now, I have weird powers, I'm a Ninja, but my birth mother appearing like that?" Ari's voice was loud and rising in pitch. "I've spent my life wondering about my parents, who they are, why they gave me up for adoption, and she just comes blasting into my life like it's nothing? I...I can't...I can't deal with this," Xander pulled her close as she panicked. He could feel her shaking as his arms wrapped around her. "Why now?" Ari demanded.

"Ok, sit down," he forced her to sit on a fallen log, crouching in front of her. "Breathe," Xander ordered, and Ari frowned at him, but obliged. "You see? This is why you keep me around," he grinned at her, and Ari started laughing.

"I'm beginning to wonder why you keep _me_ around. I've been a mess since we became Rangers," she laughed, and he put a hand on her head. "You know, I'm not a dog," Ari told him, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but this seems to make you feel better," Xander shrugged, taking a seat beside her. "You're my best friend Ari, you have been since I moved here. You've saved my life at least three times. Of course I'm gonna stick by you now," he told her, and she smiled.

"You know that all of those times your life was only in danger because of me right?" Ari pointed out. The Green Ranger frowned for a moment as he thought about it.

"You're right. Bye," he stood up and went to walk away. Ari burst out laughing and caught his arm.

"Too late, dork," the Gold Ranger giggled as he sat back down.

"Why don't you hear her out?" her giggles faded as Xander spoke. "I'll be right there, and so will the others. If it's too much, I'll take you out myself," he offered, and Ari tried and failed to fight another laugh.

"Ok, I'll hear her out," the Sun Ninja agreed, and got to her feet. "You know, you're smarter than everything thinks. Sometimes," she added at the end.

"Hey, I'm way smarter than any of you give me credit for," Xander argued, getting to his feet.

"Until you see your reflection," Ari teased, and he pushed her and started walking. "Hey, in fairness, you do get distracted by mirrors easily," she continued as she ran to catch up to him.

"I'm nice to you and this is what I get?" he looked down at her as she laughed. "Never again," he declared, and grabbed her, holding her under his arm.

"Hey! Let me go!" Ari protested as he began walking.

"Only if you be nice," Xander told her, and Ari paused.

"I can deal with this," she decided, and burst out laughing as he shook his head and continued walking.

1-2-3-4-5

Ari stood awkwardly in front of Udonna and Althea as the others waited just out of earshot, all very curious.

"I cannot believe that you are Meraki," Udonna shook her head with a soft smile. "And that I did not recognise you immediately," she murmured.

"Do you know what happened when you were a baby?" Althea asked, unable to take her eyes off her teenage daughter.

"All I know is that I was found at an orphanage in Briarwood, with this," Ari held up her necklace. "Why?" she looked up at them, tears in her eyes. "Why did you leave me?" her voice shook, and Althea made to move as if to comfort her, but stopped herself as Ari wiped away her tears on the back of her hand.

"It was not meant to be like that," Althea said as Ari looked back up at her. "The darkness was starting to overwhelm us. You and Bowen were taken away by your father to be protected," this only brought up more questions for Ari.

"Bowen? My father?"

"Bowen was my son," Ari looked at Udonna quickly, her eyes wide. "Was there not another baby with you?" Udonna asked her hopefully.

"No. I was found alone," she answered, shaking her head. Udonna slumped, and Althea put an arm around her friend. "Th-that's not to say he's not still out there. I mean, I'm here, aren't I?" she tilted her head, and Udonna nodded sadly, trying to smile.

"Sending you away was the only way to protect you. But Daggeron...he never would have left you alone..." Althea ran a hand through her long hair, not understanding. "But I am glad that I have finally found you," Althea reached out to Ari, who took a step back.

"I'm sorry, I understand it all, but I just need some time to process it," Ari spoke awkwardly, not looking at Althea as the woman's smile dropped.

"Please, don't tell the others of this yet. Not about my son," Udonna requested, and with a weak smile, Ari nodded. She walked back over to the others, managing a small smile as they looked up.

"You know, it's a good thing it wasn't a guy who made you cry, Ari," Vida grinned, and Maddie and Chip both started laughing as Xander rolled his eyes and Nick looked confused.

"Don't start this again," the earth wizard complained.

"Start what again?" Nick asked curiously, looking to the others as Ari went red. "Why would it have been worse if it was a guy?" he asked.

"Because Xander has a bad habit of going nuts on any guy that makes Ari cry," Chip grinned, and Nick looked over at the Australian with a surprised expression. Xander just scowled at Chip, going red.

"Wait, _this _Xander?" Nick asked as Vida just laughed more. Nick couldn't grasp it. Xander was a charmer, and had already proven that he preferred using words to fists. "_Really_?" Nick couldn't help but laugh at this point.

"Oh yeah. It's totally sweet. A little scary, but sweet," Maddie joined in with a grin. Ari shrugged, choosing not to bring up the fact that he had punched Shane 3 years ago for that very thing.

"Hey, Udonna?" deciding to spare Xander any more embarrassment, Ari turned to the white witch. "The Xenotome only said about us, didn't it? So how...?" she looked to Althea as everyone else looked up.

"Yeah, how come Althea's a Ranger too?" Chip spoke up.

"I'm the Lunar Knight, trained many years ago to battle the darkness," Althea explained with a smile. "The Xenotome only spoke of the new Rangers who would come to help. After all, Udonna is a Ranger as well," she pointed out.

"You're a knight?" the other teenagers stifled their laughter as Chip gaped at Althea.

"Uh oh, here we go," Vida grinned to the others.

"I've always wanted to be a knight!" the Yellow Ranger exclaimed as he jumped up. "What's it like? Have you slayed dragons? Ogres?" he bombarded the startled knight with questions as the rest of the group just laughed, shaking their heads at their excitable friend.

* * *

**A few of you guessed it, Daggeron is Ari's father. I've been throwing subtle hints in now and again, and I will admit, it's been great when you've guessed it!**

**I've grown very attached to Althea as I've been writing this, so I hope you guys like her too!**

**Let me know what you think so far!**

**Please review!**


	4. Code Busters

**To the guest who keeps asking about posting Jungle Fury: Determination of the Jackal, I can't upload it because it hasn't even been _written _yet. I have not had any motivation to write it, nor do I believe I will in the foreseeable future. I'm sorry, but if I tried to force myself to write it, I would just end up going onto Tumblr instead and I really hate when I spend a day like that instead of writing something I'm actually enjoying.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4: Code Busters

The forest just outside of Briarwood was peaceful and quiet as usual, and Claire was taking advantage of that peace to collect supplies for Udonna.

The peace was shattered and she dove to the ground as the Rangers shot overhead on their Mystic Racers, laughing and cheering. They called out an apology and kept going, all racing each other.

"Come on Pinky, try and keep up!" Nick taunted as he shot ahead.

"No-one calls me pinky!" Vida yelled at the Red Ranger.

"Go get him V!" Xander cheered her on as Vida shot after him. They all followed as Nick slowed to a stop to avoid crashing into a tree, and Vida took the lead.

"Who's in the lead now, Nicky-boy?" Vida taunted as she looked around at him.

"That'd be me!" Chip passed Vida, taking her by surprise. With a loud cheer, however, Ari shot past, leaving them all in the dust.

"Dismount!" Nick called as they circled the massive tree that towered over the rest. They all leapt off their Racers and demorphed, landing easily. Their vehicles changed back into brooms, and they caught them easily.

"Very good Rangers," Udonna smiled as she walked over with Althea. "That's enough Mystic Racer practise for today," she told them. Vida and Chip whined, having too much fun to want to stop.

"Oh come on, just one more lap around the forest?" Chip asked her hopefully.

"Yeah, I was just getting warmed up!" Vida nodded eagerly. "I wanna see what this bad boy can do! I know I can beat Ari!" she insisted, looking over to Ari as she looked at the broom in her hands.

"I doubt that," Ari shot back with a smirk.

"I'm afraid not," Udonna shook her head as Althea laughed lightly at them. "It's time for Elementary Incantations," she told them.

"Urgh, boring!" everyone but Maddie complained loudly, which just made the two sorceresses smile.

"Hey...I think that sounds kinda interesting," Maddie shrugged with a smile as she started walking.

"You would," Ari muttered.

"Udonna, the Mystic Racers are _amazing_, but now that we're Power Rangers, don't we get lots of other cool stuff too?" Vida rushed up to Udonna with an excited smile.

"Aw yeah! I mean no-one's more excited than me to finally get to wear a cape!" Chip joined her, nodding eagerly.

"Finally?" Xander looked at Chip with a raised eyebrow. "If I remember, you used to come to school with a pillowcase pinned to your back," he reminded the yellow ranger, which incited a laugh in the group.

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago," Chip shrugged lightly.

"That was last week mate..." the laughter grew as Xander pointed this out.

"Well, anyway, Vida's right! We're official superheroes now!" Chip changed the subject quickly. "Where's the rest of the vehicles, weapons and gadgets that we get?" he asked hopefully.

"The Xenotome has the spell codes that will give you more power," Althea told them lightly.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's bust it open, load the codes and get our booty!" Vida exclaimed.

"You make it sound like we're pirates," Ari commented. She grinned as Vida shrugged. "Just saying. Being a pirate would be awesome though," she mused and the others laughed.

"It doesn't work that way Vida," Udonna laughed as well. "As you perform heroic deeds and grow as Rangers, the Xenotome will reveal the spell codes, when the time is right," Vida sighed as they all started walking again. Chip and Vida hung back, whispering to each other.

"So just how did you get that much speed?" Nick turned to Ari as they headed back to Rootcore.

"I dabbled in motocross when I was fifteen. It was just like that," Ari shrugged, and the Red Ranger stared at her. Ari grinned as she walked ahead.

"You say 'dabbling', but you entered that motocross/skateboarding thing and got second place, didn't you?" Xander remembered, and Ari's grin widened.

"Oh, now it's cool that I got second place?" she turned to the Green Ranger and poked him with her broom. "What happened to 'I'd win first place'?" she poked him again and he swatted her away with his own broom.

"We'll catch up with you guys later!" Vida called, and she and the yellow ranger ran off.

"Huh. Wonder what they've got planned," Ari glanced around at the two, before shrugging and following the others back to Rootcore.

1-2-3-4-5

"Man...look at all these incantations!" Xander grumbled, frustrated he looked down at the book in front of him. "How is my brain supposed to fit in all of this information?" he demanded. Nick was sitting hunched over a book as Maddie carried over another pile.

"Why don't you let me help you out with that?" Maddie lifted her morpher, and chanted a spell she had read. Blue light hit Xander, and his head grew, making both Maddie and Nick burst out laughing. Ari, who had been completely focused on what she was reading, looking up and yelped, falling off her seat in shock. "Now you have lots more room!" Maddie grinned as Ari started to laugh as well.

"And I thought he had a big head before!" Nick laughed loudly as Xander smiled pleasantly at them.

"Very funny..." he told them calmly. "Madison, if you wouldn't mind?" he looked at Blue Ranger, and Maddie, still laughing, reversed the spell and his head returned to normal. Ari climbed back into her seat, trying to stop her laughter as she looked back at her book.

After a few hours, even Maddie was ready to stop for the day.

"Let's call it a day," Nick decided, pushing the book away from him. "I'm starving," his stomach growled as if to confirm this, and he stood up. Xander and Maddie got up as well, and looked to Ari, who was still reading. "You coming Ari?" Nick asked the Ninja, who shook her head without looking up.

"I'll meet you guys later, I wanted to finish this stuff," she told them. Nick looked at Maddie and Xander, who shrugged, and after calling out their goodbyes, the three left.

"You're very into that," Ari didn't look up as Althea approached her.

"It's interesting," Ari replied, and looked up. "And the sooner I learn it, the sooner I can use it," she shrugged lightly. She watched Althea curiously as the woman smiled and looked down at the book of basic spells that Ari had already almost finished.

"I was never very good at incantations," she admitted.

"Or sitting down and studying at all," Udonna added in from where she stood, making a potion. Ari laughed as Althea went red.

"I was good at shape-shifting magic...and healing..." Althea defended feebly, and Udonna smiled in amusement.

"Shape-shifting magic?" Ari looked at her curiously, and Althea's embarrassment died as she smiled at her daughter and sat down, telling her about the magic that she had excelled at.

1-2-3-4-5

A little while later, while Ari and Althea were still discussing magic and the various things it could do while Ari made her way through a box of strawberries that she had brought with her, Vida and Chip rushed in.

"Let's check the Xenotome," Vida was telling Chip quietly as they rushed over to the book. "What? Nothing?" the Pink Ranger complained as Ari shook her head, looking up at the pair. "This thing must be broke!" Vida grumbled as Chip looked irritated too.

"What are you doing?" Udonna asked from her cauldron.

"We've been out doing heroic deeds all day and haven't gotten one new code!" Chip complained to her. "Being a superhero's kind of a rip-off!" he exclaimed.

"Called it," Ari chuckled, and Althea laughed quietly.

"It seems you know very little about being a superhero," Udonna commented with a smile as she walked over.

"Are you kidding? No-one knows more than me! I've spent a fortune on video games, DVDs, graphic novels, trading cards! I've collected Power Ranger figures since I was little!" Chip ranted loudly.

"Ok, ok!" Vida laughed at him, before there was a loud chime and everyone looked over to the globe on the table.

"Something's wrong," Udonna's smile dropped and she hurried over as both Ari and Althea stood up and peered into the globe to see a giant green monster laughing. "The others are in trouble, you must stop it," the snow witch told them.

"Us? Look at that thing, it's massive! We'll get pummelled!" Vida protested, looking terrified.

"You might," Udonna agreed. "There's only three of you, and you've hardly mastered your ranger powers," she pointed out, surveying Vida and Chip's terrified expressions. "Are you afraid?" Udonna asked her calmly.

"No! It's not that I'm-"

"I'm totally scared," Chip admitted quickly. "Look! My goosebumps! They've got goosebumps!" he showed Vida, who sighed.

"Ok...I guess I'm a little freaked," she admitted. Ari kept quiet. While she wasn't scared, she was worried. Their friends were in trouble and they needed to take on a massive monster with no Zords.

"You should be. That creature's size and strength are unlike anything you've encountered," Udonna stated. Ari was too worried to scoff at her words. She'd dealt with worse, but always with a Zord.

"But Maddie...and Nick," Vida breathed as she looked down at the Globe again.

"And even Xander," Chip looked to her, and Ari frowned at the Yellow Ranger. "They need us," he said, and Vida nodded.

"We gotta try and help them," her determination won through over her fear. "Come on," Vida called to Ari and Chip, who followed her.

"Real heroes are born in the face of danger," Udonna called out as they stood together.

"Ready?" Ari called as they flipped out their morphers.

"Ready!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!"

"MYSTIC POWER!"

"Come on!" Chip called as they grabbed their brooms and moved to the top of the tree. They changed their brooms into their Racers, and shot towards where the monster was waiting for them.

"Rangers, good!" the monster spotted them, and the three slowed to a stop. Chip pulled out his morpher to contact the others quickly.

"Guys, this is Chip, where are you?" he asked.

"_Inside the belly of the beast_!" Nick yelled. "_Stay back Chip, I think he's got room for seconds_!" he warned them.

"I don't care! I'm going in!" Vida declared.

"Wait!" she stopped and looked around at Ari as the Gold Ranger shouted. "I'll distract it, then you go in, otherwise you could end up joining the others," she told them. Vida nodded, and Ari shot off towards the monster. "Hey ugly, you want seconds? Well you'll have to catch me first!" she taunted, increasing her speed and circling around him. The monster let out an angry roar and swatted at her, but missed.

"I'm going in!" Vida saw her opportunity, and flew towards the monster as Ari distracted it. She jumped off her Racer and summoned magical wings. She used them to blow fairy dust at him, and the monster sneezed as Ari shot out of the way. The three trapped Rangers were sneezed out and they skidded along the ground.

"It worked!" Vida cheered as she and Ari landed on the ground.

"Urgh, I'm covered in monster muck," Nick complained as he got to his feet, covered in slime. Above them, Chip dodged the monster's attacks, and jumped onto the front of his Racer and called on his crossbow.

"Sneeze on this!" he yelled, aiming it at the monster. "Fire!" he blasted it, striking the monster. He knocked it down, and leapt off his Racer to join the others. They cheered as they ran over to him, and he grinned.

"Just doing our job, right Vida?" he put a hand on her shoulder.

"All in a day's work!" she agreed.

"It's like they forgot I was there," Ari complained, putting her hands on her hips and making them laugh. The ground began to shake, and they looked up to see the monster standing up angrily.

"Ready rangers?"

"Strong as a tree! Green Mystic Ranger!"

"Ever changing as the wind! Pink Mystic Ranger!"

"Fluid as the Sea! Blue Mystic Ranger!"

"Fast as lightning! Yellow Mystic Ranger!"

"Bright as the Sun! Gold Mystic Ranger!"

"Forceful as fire! Red Mystic Ranger!"

"We call forth the magic! Power Rangers Mystic Force!" they chanted, and lights flew down to them and landed in their morphers.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Maddie wondered as they looked at their morphers curiously.

"It's a new spell code!" Vida realised as a few of the numbers lit up.

"I get it now, Udonna was right!" Chip remembered what she had said.

"Real heroes are born in the face of real danger," Ari repeated with a grin. "Surely you should have know that Chip, if you're the expert on superheroes," she teased him, making him laugh.

"Alright guys! Let's do it!" Nick called, and they each activated their new code, casting the spell.

"It's Titan Time!"

"MYSTIC MINOTAUR!"

"MYSTIC SPRITE!"

"MYSTIC MERMAID!"

"MYSTIC GARUDA!"

"MYSTIC GRIFFIN!"

"MYSTIC PHOENIX!"

"ANCIENT POWER, MYSTIC TITANS!" the Rangers called. The monster attacked again, but each of them dodged quickly. Nick, Chip and Ari attacked, knocking the monster back.

"This power is incredible!" Nick cheered as Ari flew into the air and kicked the monster to the ground.

"Let's go!" Xander called to Vida and Maddie.

"Let's play ball!" Vida transformed into a ball, and Xander caught her and tossed her into the air. Using the axe in his hand, he batted her towards Maddie.

"Chip, coming your way!" Maddie called as she flipped and hit Vida with her tail. Chip caught her in the air.

"Ari, you're up!" he called to the Gold Ranger, and tossed her the ball. Ari flew through the air and spun, using her wings to knock it to Nick.

"Nick, you got this!" she called to him.

"Here we go, watch this!" Nick kicked Vida towards the monster, causing it to catch fire. The monster cried out as the ball slammed into him, destroying him as Vida changed back, and they cheered loudly at their victory.

1-2-3-4-5

"I'm proud of you all, and you've only just begun to tap into the potential of the Mystic Titans," Udonna smiled to the group of Rangers as they stood in Rootcore.

"Yeah, but now green freak is gone, right? So it's all good in the woods?" Madison asked as she looked to the others.

"Well, let's hope so, we don't know if it's the same creature that attacked Claire," Xander frowned, and the Rangers nodded.

"Nick's investigating that," Althea told them. "We'll find out soon enough, I hope," she frowned.

"Let's hope that whatever it was is long gone," Ari was sitting at the table, working her way through the box of strawberries. "I could do with a break," she commented lazily as she opened a book. As the others rolled their eyes at her laziness, their morphers chimed. "Break's over," Ari sighed, and flipped open her morpher.

"_Guys, I think I found what we were looking for_!" Nick yelled, and they looked through the globe to see him running from something travelling underground that was breaking up the ground as it followed the Red Ranger.

"What is he running from?" Xander demanded.

"I dunno, but he needs help," Vida told them as they all grouped together.

"Yeah yeah, of course he does," Ari sighed, shoving one last strawberry into her mouth before grabbing her morpher.

"Ready?" Xander called.

"Ready!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they hurried towards the battle already taking place between Nick, who had morphed and was attempting to fight off the giant worm. Xander drew his axe and sliced across the worm, making it screech and return to its hole.

"Thanks man, I owe you one," Nick said to Xander as he got up. The others ran over to join them and ensure Nick was ok, before 8 heads burst out of the ground. "Uh oh, he looks mad!" Nick cried as he backed away.

"He does?" Ari tilted her head.

"Hey, I got a new spell code!" Xander realised as he checked his morpher, and Maddie, Chip, Vida and Ari realised that they did as well.

"Udonna said the Titan's had more power," Vida reminded them.

"Wonder just what this power is," Ari wondered with a grin. She already found it completely bizarre that they became their Zords. She wondered just how far it would go.

"Let's just see what they can do," Nick suggested, and they activated the spell code to become Titans.

"MYSTIC TITANS!"

"MYSTIC TITANS, DRAGON FORMATION!" all of the Rangers but Nick started glowing as he looked around at them, before changing and combining to create a large Dragon.

"How cool is that! Hang on everybody, I'm ready to ride!" Nick leapt up onto the dragon and managed to stay on. "Let's bury that worm!" he called as the dragon flew towards the hydra worm, ready for battle. They avoided attacks by the monster easily, and Nick managed to stay on its back. "Still hungry?" Nick called, and the worm attacked again, but the dragon just swerved in the air, easily avoiding the attacks. "Dragon blast!" the attack hit each of the heads, and the worm flailed in pain. "Alright Rangers, let's get fired up!" Nick called as he leapt off the Dragon and into the air.

The Dragon created a fireball and shot it towards Nick, who flipped in the air and slammed his foot into it just as he had done with Vida in her ball form. It slammed into the centre of the worm, destroying it as they landed. "Alright! That was a snap!" Nick cheered as the worm exploded.

* * *

**So, wow, like I said the last chapter, I honestly didn't expect the reception that this story has received. It's amazing, and thanks to all of you, you're all amazing!**

**I've been watching MMPR non-stop the last few days, and I've just started Zeo. I'm hooked and can't stop myself. I'm a little obsessed.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Please review!**


	5. Learning Their History

**I'm almost finished watching Zeo again, and I'm getting so many ideas for a fic...oh dear...  
**

**Anyways, on with the latest chapter, another original one, so I hope you enjoy it!**

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Chapter 5: Learning Their History

As Ari walked into Rock Porium to start her shift, unclasping her helmet and lifting her skateboard, she called out a greeting to the other workers, who all looked up at her quickly.

"What?" she paused, frowning at them and tilting her head.

"You're...early," Vida commented, looking up at the clock. Ari just blinked. "You're _never _early. I think you've been on time like once," Vida pointed out. The others nodded, and Ari shrugged.

"I was up early," she stated.

"Wait, _you_ get up early?" Nick laughed as Ari blushed.

"Well for the last few days, yeah," she confirmed with a nod, pushing her hair out of her face. "Since I got back to Briarwood, I've been neglecting my training. So I've started up again," she explained. Ari took a seat, pulling a book out of her bag. Still a little stunned to see her in work early, the others started to work, and Xander leaned over the back of the sofa.

"Still not gonna tell them?" he asked Ari.

"Nope," she replied lightly, turning the page without looking up.

"Ok, but maybe you get working considering you're actually in on time for once," this actually made Ari look up at the Green Ranger with a raised eyebrow. She then hit him over the head with her book.

"When I see you working, then I'll do something," she smirked at him as he rubbed his head.

"I'll show you something!" he grabbed her book and darted off, only for Ari to jump off the back of the sofa and tackle him to the ground.

"Can you guys ever go a day without messing around?" Nick asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Not usually," Chip smiled brightly as he walked past.

"I've yet to see a day like that," Maddie smiled, and Nick shook his head, turning to serve a customer who was watching Xander overpower Ari and sit on her, reading the book he had stolen as she flailed on her stomach.

1-2-3-4-5

Barely any work had been done within the two hours the Rangers were in Rock Porium before they were called away to deal with a new monster, who was running through the city.

"Hey!" Nick called as they found it chasing away screaming civilians.

"Oh, new playmates!" the monster cheered as it turned to face them. "Are you here to play my game?" he asked eagerly.

"We're here to take you down!" Vida called confidently.

"What, no minions to help you?" Ari tilted her head, looking around for any sign of Hidiacs, but they were the only ones around.

"Like I need them to beat you guys!" the monster just laughed.

"Ready guys?" Nick called to his friends, who nodded as they drew their morphers.

"Ready!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they morphed into their respective colours, and ran at the monster, who laughed again.

"Time to play!" he cheered, and what appeared to be his eye flashed, and their surroundings went dark.

"Oh great, now what?" Xander asked as they stopped and looked around.

"I don't know...but I don't like it..." Ari shook her head, before realising that she was surrounded by silence. "Guys?" she looked around, and found herself alone. "What the heck?" she questioned, before spotting the monster running at her. She dodged its attack, and kicked it from behind. The illusion faded as Maddie cried out and fell to the ground. "Maddie? What the hell?" Ari crouched beside her. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were that monster," she apologised, helping the Blue Ranger up.

"I thought you were the monster..." Maddie mumbled.

"Are you ok?" Vida reappeared, running towards them, and Ari stiffened as a memory resurfaced. She drew her Magi Staff and blocked the attack that would have hit Maddie, and the monster was revealed.

"Oh? You saw through my trick!" the monster complained, and punched Ari so she went stumbled back to the ground. He then laughed, and several illusions appeared around Ari. She pushed herself up and ran at one, only to go straight through an illusion.

"Dammit...just like Madtropolis..." the Gold Ranger groaned as she looked up to see both Maddie and the monster disappear. "This is bad. Really bad," she gulped, looking around. Something hit her from behind, and she cried out, hitting the ground hard.

"Ari!" Xander realised that it had been an illusion and helped her into a sitting position.

"I'm alright," Ari groaned, but her suit was sparking a little. "Watch out!" she saw Madtropolis reappear behind him, and raised a hand. Madtropolis's attack was repelled by her shield, and Nick fell to the ground.

"What the heck?" Nick frowned as he looked up and saw the other two Rangers. He was then hit by Chip as the Yellow Ranger reappeared, and let out a cry of horror when he realised that he'd shot down their leader. Their surroundings suddenly returned to normal, and the Rangers looked around to see Vida pinning Maddie to the ground.

"You guys are all playing, just like I hoped!" the monster cheered. Vida rolled off her sister, crying out apologies as Maddie sat up. "But you're boring and not playing with me, just each other, so I'm going to go have fun somewhere else!" he decided, and disappeared through a spell seal before they could stop him.

"What the hell was that?" Nick demanded as Chip helped him up.

"Let's get back to Rootcore, we can figure out what to do then," Maddie decided as she got up, limping a little.

1-2-3-4-5

The Rangers returned to Rootcore, beaten from taking hard hits from each other as well as the monster, who had managed to fool everyone else.

"That was powerful magic he demonstrated," Udonna spoke as Althea healed Maddie's injured leg.

"Illusions. He's making us see each other as him, and himself as one of us," Ari muttered as she leaned against the wall, chewing on her thumbnail. "With so many of us running around, its impossible to tell who's who," she frowned.

"You were able to tell," Maddie commented, and everyone glanced to her. "You knew that he was impersonating Vida," she pointed out as Ari paused.

"Vida would have sounded a lot more worried if she'd seen you on the ground like that," the Gold Ranger answered after a moment. "I have an idea on how to take this guy out," she straightened up, walking back over and folding her arms. After a moment, she took a breath and pushed her hair out of her face. "Let me face him alone," Ari requested, and as she expected, there was an uproar.

"What? No way!" Nick shook his head quickly.

"Why not? If it's just me there, he won't be able to impersonate you without me knowing that it's him," she pointed out.

"And if he makes copies of himself?" Xander challenged, and Ari hesitated.

"If I focus, I'll be able to tell who's who. I panicked back there, that's all," she explained, and Xander softened, but still looked against the idea.

"I don't care, we'll figure out how to take him out together," Nick still refused flat out. Ari sighed in irritation. "You're not risking yourself on some stupid idea!" he exclaimed, and the others nodded. Ari let out a groan, putting a hand to her face.

"How can you guys doubt me like they did?!" she yelled, frustrated with them. Immediately she froze, and covered her mouth as they all frowned at her. "Oh, I so did not say that," Ari breathed.

"What do you mean, 'like they did'?" Udonna asked carefully. Ari glanced to Xander, who shrugged, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, you're plenty helpful," she grumbled, and sat down on the table. "I gotta stop revealing stuff when I get mad. This is the second time...after the whole Trent and Lothor thing and everything," she muttered.

"Come on Ari, spill. What are you talking about?" Vida demanded, and Ari sighed again.

"This...isn't the first time I've been a Power Ranger," she admitted after a small pause. "It's actually the third time," she told them. The silence that followed her confession was heavy, and the others who didn't know exchanged looks, before bursting out laughing.

"Oh, that's a good one!" Nick laughed hard, and Ari frowned.

"But it's true..." she told him softly.

"If that's how you thought you would convince us to listen to your plan, it's not gonna work," Vida laughed as well, doubling over as tears stung at her eyes.

"Guys, she's telling the truth," Xander told them, standing beside Ari and frowned at the others as they continued to laugh. Even Udonna and Althea looked amused at the thought.

"Ok, ok," Maddie bit her lip, trying to stop her laughter. "You're only 18 now, how old were you when you were a Ranger before?" tears shone in her eyes as she asked this. Ari hesitated, going red as she looked down at her hands.

"I was 15 the first time, and 16 the second time," she admitted, which caused another round of laughter.

"Sorry Ari, that's just too ridiculous," Chip laughed.

"Come on guys, knock it off," Xander frowned as they fell into each other laughing.

"When you guys came to visit Reefside, you tried to follow me when I went to help my friend Trent, remember?" they stopped laughing at Ari's soft words. "I disappeared, and you guys found the White Ranger fighting the Red and Gold Rangers. The White Ranger spotted you and attacked, right?" she asked, and Chip, Maddie and Vida nodded slowly. Nick looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"We told you that," Chip shrugged, not looking convinced.

"Yeah, you told me that the Gold Ranger saved you. You didn't tell me how," they frowned at her. "She stood in the way of the attack, and the air seemed to shimmer, right? That shield is what protected you," she told them, and they were silent for a moment.

"No way. You were there for a year, you could have seen her do it some time and then guessed," Vida shook her head, refusing to accept it. Sighing heavily, Ari stood up.

"What are you doing?" Xander looked down at her as she pulled her phone from her pocket.

"Well I have a lot of ways of proving I'm telling the truth, even if I shouldn't have to. So, I'm going for the most educational way that doesn't involve me blowing stuff up or having things thrown at me," Ari growled as she put the phone to her ear. "I'm calling Doctor O. He has proof that I'm not making this up," there were tears in the corners of her eyes as she walked away from the group. "Hey Doc? Sorry to bother you but can I get that video you made?" she asked as she turned her back to the group and moved out of earshot.

"You don't think she's actually telling the truth, do you?" Maddie asked as Althea finished healing her.

"There's no way, it's just too crazy," Vida stubbornly denied it. After a minute, Ari returned, still looking irritated. She drew her wand, and cast a spell on the screen behind Udonna. The screen flickered, before showing Doctor Oliver as he set up the camera.

"Here. Learn about your predecessors," Ari snapped, and they gathered around the screen, curious.

"_I'm Tommy Oliver_," the teacher spoke, and both Althea and Udonna started. "_If you're not me, then something is seriously wrong_," Doctor Oliver told them, and Vida scoffed. "_This video diary is a confidential record, only to be viewed in case of an emergency_. _What you're about to see, is a history of my life_," Doctor Oliver told them.

"How is watching a video about your teacher going to teach us anything?" Nick asked.

"Wait for it..." Ari spoke softly.

"_My history, as a Power Ranger_," Doctor Oliver told the screen, and Nick looked startled.

"How'd you get him to let you access it?" Xander whispered to Ari as the video began to show Tommy's past.

"I promised him info on this team," Ari admitted, and seeing his startled look, she grinned. "He didn't know anything and he likes to keep records on all the teams," she explained, and nudged him. "Thanks by the way," she whispered. He grinned back, and they began watching the video as well.

1-2-3-4-5

Other than a couple of comments, the group watched the video in silence, fascinated by the groups of Rangers that had come before them. Ari found herself picking up more about it. The first time, she had been too worried about not only finding the missing Doctor Oliver, but also about Connor, Kira and Ethan finding out about her past.

"Ok, this is all super interesting, but how does it prove that you're a Ranger? All this proves is that you knew a Ranger," Vida looked over at Ari as the video showed the Wild Force Rangers.

"Not just any Ranger. Doctor O is a legend," Ari told her firmly.

"Indeed he is," Althea agreed, but as Ari went to question this, the video changed again.

"**_These_," **Cam spoke as he was shown on screen, holding out a box of morphers. **"_Are your Power Ranger Wind Morphers_," **Cam told Shane, Dustin and Tori. Dustin started laughing in his excitement.

"**_Yes! See? I knew it dude! I was right, Power Rangers _are _real_!" **he was cheering happily as he took the Yellow Ranger morpher.

"**_From this point, you will be known as the Wind Power Rangers_," **Sensei told them, revealed in his guinea pig form. The others jolted as they stared at the screen.

"Here you go," Ari told them, folding her arms.

"_Three unlikely Ninja students commanded the Power of Earth, Air and Water_," Doctor Oliver spoke up. "_But they wouldn't face this battle alone. A young Sun Ninja joined their ranks to help them, even if at first they didn't believe she could help_," he spoke over footage of the Gold Ninja Ranger fighting her first opponent, easily defeating him before demorphing to reveal 15 year old Ari. Her hair was cropped almost as short as Vida's, and she was covered in bruises and scrapes from skateboarding and training. She wore baggy clothes that made her look even younger, and her expression was a nervous one that they hadn't seen since she had returned from Blue Bay Harbour.

"No way..." Nick breathed as they paused the video and turned to Ari. "You really were-"

"You're a Ninja?!" Chip burst in excitedly. Ari looked away from her younger self and nodded with a small smile. She reached out and hit play again, resuming the video.

"_Even at a younger age, it didn't take Ari long to prove herself to the other Rangers_," Ari scoffed, still finding his words ridiculous. "_Her skills as a Sun Ninja were a valuable asset to the team, along with a strange power that helped to keep her in the fight_," the video showed her disappearing and reappearing during a battle. "_It was the Power of Thunder that gave them their biggest challenge_," Doctor Oliver continued as it showed the Crimson and Navy Rangers, who took out the four Rangers with ease.

"**_Hey_!" **Shane yelled as the video showed the Crimson and Navy Rangers holding Cam and Ari in their grasp. The other Dino Rangers looked at Ari, who just shrugged.

"_But their greatest enemies..._" the two demorphed to reveal their identities, throwing Cam into the others before escaping with Ari. The video was abruptly paused by Xander, and Ari gave a small laugh as the Green Ranger turned to her.

"Do you mind telling me why two of the guys you're friends with kidnapped you?" Xander asked, his voice quiet. The others watched warily as Ari bit her lip.

"Because they were misled by Lothor and thought we were their enemies?" she tried.

"Why did they kidnap you?" Xander demanded, his voice still quiet.

"I'd rather not say..." Ari took a step back from him. "Zoe tried to put Hunter through a wall when she found out. I'm not about to tell you," she folded her arms.

"Ari..." he scowled.

"Xander," she mimicked, and turned back to the video. "Let's just keep going," Ari quickly hit play.

"_Proved to be their greatest allies_," the video continued, showing Hunter demorphing and collapsing on the island.

"**_Do you know who we are_?" **Shane asked cautiously.

"**_Yeah, my friends_," **Hunter nodded, and the scene changed again.

"_When their powers were stolen, a new power stepped in to help, one that they didn't expect_," Zoe was shown on the screen, standing over Ari, who was still morphed. "_A graduated Moon Ninja, Zoe was an ally that the Rangers desperately needed_," the Gold and Silver Rangers took out Madtropolis together.

"**_Sorry to spoil your fun_!" **Ari's smile widened as Cam challenged Lothor in the past.

"_With Earth on the brink of destruction, another friend, Cam, went back in time, to retrieve the one power that could save them all. The power of the Green Samurai,_" the Green Ranger on screen demorphed to reveal Cam, who smiled at his weakened team. "_In their final battle against Lothor, the Rangers made the ultimate sacrifice_," Doctor Oliver continued as the scene changed to show Lothor fighting them at the Abyss of Evil.

"**_I have your Ranger Powers_!" **Lothor declared, holding up the Samurai Amulet, which he had stolen from Cam.

"**_We may not be Power Rangers, but we still have power_!" **Shane was back on his feet. **"_Power of Air_!"**

"**_Power of Earth_!"**

"**_Power of Water_!"** The three combined their powers, and defeated Lothor, tossing him into the Abyss, which caused a large purple explosion on screen.

"Ari, I'm really sorry that we laughed at you," Nick turned to Ari, who gave a small smile.

"We all are," Vida spoke up. Maddie and Chip nodded in agreement.

"It's ok. I suppose it is a little unbelievable," Ari laughed a little as she shrugged. She looked back at the screen, at herself and her friends as they defeated Lothor. "Hey, I wonder if the good Doc updated this after we beat Mesogog..." she leaned forwards and hit play.

"_I arrived in Reefside to begin teaching after an experiment I participated in went very wrong. Four of my students, including the now ex-Ninja Ranger Ari, stumbled across Dino Gems that granted them mysterious powers_," Doctor Oliver continued on, showing footage of Ari and the others lifting the Dino Gems.

"**Well, what are they?" **Kira asked on screen, holding her gem as it glowed yellow.

"_Connor, Ethan, Kira and Ari harnessed the power that was in their gems and became the Dino Thunder Power Rangers_," the screen showed each of them using their Dino Powers, and then them morphing. "_And the phrase Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger, proved true when I joined them as the Black Ranger when I retrieved the Black Gem from Mesogog._

"**There are two things you guys gotta learn about Dino Gems," **Doctor Oliver grinned at Elsa. **"One, you can't choose them. They choose you,"** he stated.

"**What's the other?"** Elsa demanded.

"**They go real well with Dino Morphers,"** the Doctor combined the Gem with the morpher on his wrist.

"**Aren't you a little old, **_**Tommy**_**?"** Elsa was sneering at him.

"**I may be old, but I can still pull it off,"** he told her confidently. **"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP!"** he morphed into his black suit. **"Just like riding a bike."**

"_With the five of us fighting together, it seemed like we couldn't be beaten. But that's when our friend Trent discovered the White Dino Gem, which had been filled with evil_," the video showed the White Ranger fighting the others. Ari's smile dropped. Even now she was scared of when Trent had been evil.

"**Trent, you're out of control!"** the Rangers attempted to plead with Trent as he captured their auxiliary Zords.

"**Looks more like I'm _in _control," **Trent replied, before escaping.

"_But as always, good won out over evil, and Trent joined the team, and despite a few more hurdles, we finally defeated Mesogog_," the video showed them utilising the power of their Gems and destroying the mutated Mesogog and his clones.

"And that's your history," Ari grinned as she ended the video.

"That was _awesome_!" Chip declared with excitement.

"So that weird thing you attacked Koragg with wasn't actually magic," Maddie commented as she remembered Ari using her Dino Powers on the Knight.

"I never said it was. I only said that the disappearing thing I do is. But my Dino Powers are actually connected to the sun," Ari held out a hand and created an energy-ball. The others peered at it curiously, and she let it fizzle out.

"And that really _was _you who saved us from the White Ranger!" Vida stared at her, and Ari frowned at her.

"Yeah, and you guys should have just run away instead of staring at the fight. What did you think was going to happen?" she demanded.

"Don't listen to her, she's been mad about that since it happened," Xander rolled his eyes as Chip, Vida and Maddie looked abashed.

"Hey, if you'd listened to me you wouldn't have nearly been killed by Tutenhawken," she frowned at him.

"So you knew the entire time?" Maddie asked the Green Ranger.

"Only cause he got himself grabbed by a monster in Blue Bay Harbour," Ari muttered.

"You'd morphed by that point," Xander argued as he turned to her.

"Because you tried Plan Xander instead of running away like a normal person," Ari countered, and the others sniggered as he went red. "The second time, he figured it out after I saved your sorry asses," she glanced to the others. "So, now that you know the truth, will you let me take on this monster?" Ari asked.

"I dunno..." Nick frowned, looking reluctant still.

"Oh come on, you just saw the video, I can do this!" Ari pleaded with him. "I've fought a monster like this before. I know how to beat him. As Sensei said, I just gotta channel my inner ninja," she grinned.

"You mean the talking rat?" Chip blinked at her.

"Guinea-pig!" Ari corrected sharply.

"Well I think it's safe to say Ari's had a weirder life in the human world than most," Althea commented to Udonna, who nodded, still looking startled over Ari's past. She had to admit, it did explain some things about the strange girl, but it was still strange to think that she had already helped to save the world twice before. "I think we should let her try," Althea spoke up, surprising everyone.

"Really?" even Ari was stunned to hear her mother give her the ok.

"Well, you've already proven that you can handle yourself," Althea shrugged, smiling at her.

"I think we should too," Chip agreed with a grin. "I wanna see more of those awesome ninja moves," he told her. Ari laughed, resting a hand on her hip.

"I'm still not teaching you them," Chip pouted, making the others laugh.

"Alright, go for it," Nick decided, nodding to Ari. She smiled widely at him as Maddie and Vida nodded too.

"I dunno," Ari's smile dropped as Xander frowned. "It still sounds dangerous," he muttered, folding his arms.

"Look, if it gets too much, my powers will kick in and pull me away from the battle, and we'll think of something else, ok?" Ari tried. She gave her best friend a pleading look, and he sighed.

"Fine," he relented, looking away.

"She really is a demon..." Nick whispered to Maddie, who giggled.

"How do you think I got Hunter and Blake to stay and join our team after they nearly killed me?" Ari glanced to him with a lazy smirk.

"Nearly _what_?" Xander looked back at her sharply. Ari gave a weak laugh as she realised what she'd said.

"Uh, nothing. Bye!" Ari ran out of Rootcore, back into town to take on the monster.

1-2-3-4-5

Laughing loudly as he chased away more innocent civilians, the monster continued terrorising Briarwood. Until a couple of golden energy-balls slammed into his back and knocked him to the ground.

"You still want to play?" Ari called as she stood nearby, lowering her hands to her sides. The monster looked up, and growled.

"You again!" he leapt to his feet, before looking around. "Only one? Aw, did the other Rangers not want to play with you?" the monster mocked, and Ari grinned as she lifted her morpher.

"I only wanted to play with you," the Sun Witch told him, and flipped open her morpher to hit the spell code. "MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" she morphed into her gold suit, and drew her Magi Staff. As predicted, the monster summoned his illusions, and everything went dark around Ari except for the ground.

"You'll have to catch me to play!" the monster laughed as several copies appeared around Ari. She didn't move, instead breathing out slowly and closing her eyes. "Giving up already? You're so boring!" the monster taunted, and was taken aback when Ari suddenly moved, switching her Staff into its dual swords mode and attacked him with a cross pattern slash across his chest.

"What was that about catching you?" Ari laughed as the copies disappeared.

"You little-" the monster cried out in pain as Ari hit him again several times. He created more clones, but Ari easily saw through them, and sent him crashing to the ground again.

"Let's end this! Sun Power!" she slammed her swords together at their bases and spun them together. Golden energy shot from it and slammed into the monster destroying him instantly. "Huh. Didn't think that would work," she commented, grinning under her helmet victoriously.

1-2-3-4-5

"That was awesome!" Chip declared as Ari met up with the Rangers after the battle. She smiled, suddenly embarrassed as they reached her.

"Great work Ari, we really shouldn't have doubted you," Nick told her, high-fiving the Gold Ranger.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Ari teased, smiling back. "I'm starving, let's get some food!" she cheered, and they voiced their agreement, starting to move again. The girl was surprised when Xander pulled her into a hug, but reciprocated anyway.

"Next time, don't pretend to be so confident," Xander whispered to her, making her smile drop in surprise. "You're not in this alone. You don't have to do things alone," he told her quietly, and Ari's grip on him tightened as she remained silent. She was almost irritated at how well he read her. She'd claimed to be almost overconfident to convince the others to let her fight alone, but she had been nowhere near that level of confident.

"Well, I definitely gotta get used to you being a Ranger now," she pulled away after a moment and grinned at him.

"And maybe tell me what went down with Hunter and Blake?" Xander questioned. Ari groaned and ran off.

"No way!" she called back, and shaking his head, he chased after her, calling for her to tell him as the others just laughed.

* * *

**This chapter was mostly for the other Rangers to discover Ari's Ranger history. Let me know what you thought of it!  
**

**Please review!**


	6. Rock Solid

**Sorry for not updating till now, but I've been working a lot over the last few days as another girl broke her ribs and I'm covering her shifts for the foreseeable future.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter anyway!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Rock Solid

The skate park was busy as many took advantage of the pleasant weekend. Some showed off harder tricks, while others tried out the basics, trying to avoid Ari as she hurtled around.

"You know..." Xander started as she slowed to a stop beside him. "I think you've gotten hooked on the speed. You've nearly killed about 4 people," he commented as she looked up at him with an innocent smile.

"Me? Nah, I think you're mistaken," she spoke brightly, rooting around in her backpack for her water. The symbol for Sun Ninjas from the Celestial Academy hung from her backpack, seeming like an innocent keyring, but in actuality was an emergency communication device that linked her to Ninja Ops and the other Ninja Storm Rangers.

"Uhuh..." Xander just raised an eyebrow, unconvinced with her act. "We better get moving or we're going to be late," he checked his watch to make sure that they weren't already late.

"Xander, you're with me, of course we're gonna be late," Ari winked at him, and offered him her water bottle.

"And you're with me, which means we aren't gonna be late," he replied as he took it and downed half of the contents, making her laugh.

"We'll see," Ari returned her water to her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "Race you to Rock Porium?" she challenged, looking back up at Xander with a smirk.

"Only if you're ok with losing!" he shot off quickly, and with a cry of laughter, Ari chased after him. Xander laughed as he held the lead, hearing her yell at him, laughing just as much.

1-2-3-4-5

"Hey, Ari slow down!" Nick looked up from re-shelving records as he heard Xander's panicked yell from outside.

"It's not that easy!" Ari yelled, still laughing, before there was a loud thud. Nick dove out of the way as Xander and Ari came barrelling into Rock Porium, nearly taking out Chip.

"You really need to learn how to hit the brakes," Xander groaned as their skateboards followed the pair in.

"There's no brakes on a skateboard," Ari replied as she lay on her back. "What the heck is the use of all these pads if the rest of my body takes the beating?" she complained, opening her eyes and looking at her elbow pads.

"Maybe because you're not supposed to come rolling into Rock Porium instead of walking in like a normal person?" Nick suggested as he returned to what he was doing.

"Normal. Bah," Ari declared as Xander got up and pulled her to her feet. "Where's the fun in that?" she asked, pulling off her helmet.

"I won by the way," Xander told her as he removed his own and lifted his skateboard.

"You so did not win!" Ari followed him to the back to leave her things. Nick shook his head, amazed that he was already accustomed to their antics.

"I was inside first, I win," their playful bickering continued as they pulled on their new purple work shirts and started working. Well, Ari began working, carrying a box of CDs out, while Xander read a newspaper. Maddie walked around, filming her sister and her friends, before coming to Xander.

"There's been another attack, right around here," Xander showed her the newspaper. "Man turned to stone," Ari set down the box and walked over. She leaned on his knee, peering curiously at the paper.

"I heard about that. All night attacks too," she nodded as Xander looked up at her. "My dad's been super wary about me being out all hours," Ari chuckled, before noticing him watching her with a puzzled look on his face. "What?" she raised an eyebrow at him, and he quickly snapped to attention.

"Nothing," he quickly moved behind the paper again. Ari glanced to Maddie, and shrugged, before lifting the box again. "Uh, Chip? We're supposed to be marking it down," the Earth Wizard told his co-worker when he looked up. Chip rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, _we _are. I suppose you're supervising, right?" he glanced to Xander, who grinned.

"He catches on fast!" he exclaimed to Maddie and her camera as she laughed.

"Every price shall fall under my mighty hands!" Chip's loud announcement caught the Blue Ranger's attention. "For I, am Count Discount!" he pointed the labeller at the camera. "Defender of the Bargain Bin, hero to slacker and collector alike!" he began waving it around, and Xander got up.

"Ok, that does it, come here!" he grabbed the labeller off Chip. He began covering Chip in discount stickers as Maddie and Ari laughed. "One last touch!" he put one across Chip's forehead as he looked startled.

"Wait!" Ari moved in and pulled up Chip's collar.

"Now you're really Count Discount!" Xander declared, and Ari burst out laughing as Chip was given the labeller back.

"And now Count Discount will continue his duties!" Chip declared, and Ari jumped back as he put one on her. "Even if those duties prove difficult and filled with resistance!" he caught Xander as Ari ducked behind him.

"Hey, I am not your meat-shield!" the Australian told Ari as she laughed, holding onto the back of his shirt as Chip continued to label him. As he then pushed past Xander to get to Ari, who ran off, their morphers chimed. "Xander here, what's up?" the Green Ranger was first to respond.

"_I'm sensing dark magic energy, just outside the perimeter of the forest_," Udonna told them.

"It could be that thing that's turning people into statues," Chip spoke as he and Ari walked back over to Xander. "We gotta stop it," he looked up at the others.

"Weird that it's only showing up during the day now though," Ari chewed her lip. Vida rushed over, having abandoned her DJing.

"Wait, where's Maddie?" she whispered to them.

"Ah, she got all mad about something and left," Nick shrugged as he walked over. "Look, we'll call her if we get into trouble," he told them as they looked a little hesitant, and they nodded, running out of the shop as they called out their excuses to their boss.

1-2-3-4-5

"Hey, Maddie looked pretty ticked off when she left," Vida called as the five Rangers flew through the forest on their Racers.

"Heh. Women!" Xander scoffed, and cried out when Ari veered into him.

"Whoops, lost control for a moment there. You know how women drivers are," she spoke lightly, grinning as he frowned at her under his helmet.

"So, what did you say to her?" once he recovered, Xander looked over at Nick.

"Yeah, what did you say to her?" Chip slowed down to look at Nick as well.

"It must have been pretty bad if you made Maddie mad," Ari spoke up. Nick let out a frustrated growl.

"I didn't say anything!" he defended loudly. "Can we focus on what we're doing here?" he asked them, and they shrugged before following him down to the ground. They took a few steps before freezing, horrified at the sight in front of them.

"Oh no..." Vida groaned as they looked down at the collection of statues.

"We're too late...he's already been here!" Nick shook his head.

"That's just stone cold..." Vida growled, disgusted at the sight.

"How do you like my rock garden?" the five turned around quickly to see Necrolai, who flew down and landed in front of them. "Soon everyone will be like they are," she laughed mockingly.

"We'll never let that happen!" Ari yelled at the bat, who just laughed even more. There was a loud yell, and they looked to the side to see the monster.

"Magi Staff Striker!" Nick called on his sword and attacked. However, his strikes did nothing, bouncing off the monster's thick armour. When he went to attack again, the monster grabbed him and threw him through the air.

"Come on!" the other four Rangers ran to help, but they were all hit by the monster's next attack, and floored.

"That did the trick!" the monster growled.

"Now there's no-one in our way!" Necrolai laughed as the five groaned. She and the monster then disappeared through a spell seal.

"No!" Nick yelled angrily, knowing that they were headed straight for Briarwood to cause more havoc.

"Come on," Ari forced herself up. "We gotta move!" she called to the other Rangers, and they all got back to their feet and called on their Racers, flying back to town.

1-2-3-4-5

They flew back into Briarwood as fast as they could, and spotted civilians fleeing the park. They flew towards it, just in time to see Maddie being turned to stone.

"There!" Vida called, and they leapt down and ran towards their petrified friend. "Sis!" Vida cried as she led the group. A boy ran over, looking at the statue with wide eyes. "Run!" Vida called to him, and he ran off quickly. "Maddie!" Vida reached her sister, horrified.

"Hard luck!" Necrolai taunted as the monster behind her laughed loudly.

"Oh no..." Vida whispered as she put her hands to her sister's face. "You witch! You're going to pay for that!" Vida snarled at the bat, and drew her staff. "Magi Staff, Wind Power!" she changed her cape into a pair of wings that blasted a powerful wind at the two and sent them rolling backwards. "Want more?" Vida demanded furiously.

"Foolish girl..." Necrolai growled angrily as she got to her feet. "Don't you see you can never stop us? Especially now you're down a Ranger," she spoke mockingly, which served to anger Vida even more, but they escaped through a seal before the Rangers could stop them.

"We gotta get her back to Rootcore!" Vida's anger faded and was replaced by worry for her sister.

1-2-3-4-5

Nick and Chip grunted as they held up Maddie in front of Udonna and Althea, who attempted to break the spell that had petrified the Blue Ranger.

"This creature's magic is very strong," Udonna told them after another spell failed miserably.. "Only by destroying him can the spell be broken," she stated as the pair set her down carefully.

"Oh, I'll destroy him alright," Vida's fury had returned. "With my bare hands," she stormed off, ready to go back out and fight, but Xander rushed to block her path.

"Slow down V!" Xander pleaded as he was pushed back from the force of her shoving into him. "Cool it, please!" he managed to push her back, and she glared darkly at him.

"Move it Xander!" Vida snarled as she made to move past him.

"If you rush in without a plan, you'll end up just like her," Xander pointed out quickly, keeping back just in case she decided to use her fists to get past him. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Xander's right. That's how Maddie got into trouble in the first place. She shouldn't have been out there alone," Nick told her loudly, earning everyone's attention. Ari quirked an eyebrow as Nick walked up the steps, and she looked to Chip, who was thinking exactly the same thing. Nick seemed to have a death wish.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vida had turned her glare on Nick.

"She probably got in over her head V," Nick shrugged, shaking his head. Vida growled, growing more furious by the second.

"Man, you don't know my sister," Vida snarled as she walked towards Nick. Ari and Chip walked up the steps, ready to step in if a fight broke out. "She may be shy on the outside, but inside she's got the heart of a warrior!" she told him firmly.

"Right..." Nick raised his eyebrows, sceptical of Vida's words "That's why she's always hiding behind that camera," he scoffed, and Vida got in close, her eyes darkening even more.

"You are so clueless," Vida hissed at him. She stormed over to the computer, drawing her morpher. "Here's why she's always behind that camera," the Pink Ranger cast a spell on the camera that was sitting on the table, and what was on it showed up on screen.

"_Introducing DJ Vida. The best sister ever_," Maddie introduced her sister, who was performing in Rock Porium. "_Can't forget Xander! Not only a great friend, but he's sick on his board_!" she cheered as it showed Xander on his skateboard. Curious, they all gathered around to watch. Even Althea and Udonna walked up to see. "_Of course, there's no missing Ari_!" the video changed to show Ari as she skated past, winking at the camera. "_After 2 years away from us, Ari seems to have matured beyond her years_," Maddie spoke as it then showed her reading intently.

"_Hey, gimme my strawberries_!" the next shot had Ari chasing after Chip and Vida as they ran off with her fruit.

"_Well...sometimes anyway_," Maddie chuckled as those watching laughed, while Ari went red. "_But one of the things I admire most is her friendship with Xander. Their bond is unrivalled, even if it means causing mayhem for the rest of us_," the pair grinned at each other as the video showed Xander carrying Ari on his back as they escaped from Vida and Chip, who were soaking wet.

"_No man has ever attempted this without losing his life_!" Chip appeared next as he aimed an arrow at his target.

"_Chip Thorn, known him since grammar school. There's nobody in this world quite like Chip_!" Maddie laughed as the arrow hit the target and Chip celebrated his victory. There was another shot of Xander, before it suddenly showed Nick, taking the Red Ranger by surprise. "_Then there's Nick_," he watched as his recorded self worked with his bike. "_The new guy in town. We don't know too much about him yet, but I can feel it, he's something special_," she spoke softly. "_So those are my friends, old and new. I know I can count on them for anything_."

"Everyone has a different way of expressing themselves Nick," Udonna spoke up as the video ended.

"Perhaps Madison expresses herself through her films?" Althea tilted her head, smiling at the stunned Red Ranger.

"You're right...I was clueless..." he muttered, and walked down to where Maddie's statue stood. He stood in front of her, and looked apologetic. "I shouldn't have gone shooting my mouth off. I'm gonna get you outta this Maddie, I promise," no sooner had he spoken, was there a loud chime. The Xenotome flipped open, and they all rushed over to it.

"Apparently, you now have a clue," Udonna smiled at the Red Ranger.

"A new spell code!" Nick opened his morpher and found the code lighting up. He glanced at the globe as it lit up, showing the monster terrorising Briarwood again. "He's back. You guys ready to do this?" Nick looked to the others.

"Yeah! Let's rock!" Vida nodded determinedly, before realising her words.. "Sorry sis..." she stopped and looked to her sister apologetically. Ari giggled at her choice of words.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" once they morphed into their respective colours, the five Rangers grabbed their brooms and moved to the top of the tree. They transformed their brooms into their Racers, and flew off to defeat the monster.

"Come on Rangers!" Nick shouted as they headed towards Briarwood.

"Where do you think you're going Rangers?" Koragg's voice echoed up to them from the ground, and was followed by energy blasts that narrowly missed them.

"It's an ambush!" Chip served to avoid more blasts.

"You go ahead and stop that monster! I'll hold off Koragg and his goons!" Nick decided, looking over to the others. "I'll catch up. Be careful!" They nodded, and shot off towards Briarwood, while Nick flew down to meet Koragg and his monsters.

"There he is!" Vida spotted the monster in the square, chasing after screaming people and turning them into stone.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" the monster laughed, but as he went to attack again, Xander kicked him from behind.

"Back off!" Xander landed as the monster stumbled, just managing to stay on his feet. Ari, Vida and Chip landed by Xander, and Chip called on his Magi Staff.

"Magi Staff, Crossbow!" he switched it's form and shot a blast of yellow energy at the monster. Necrolai appeared suddenly and with a flick of her hand, she knocked the attack away, before letting out a yell and blasting them with her own dark magic. They hit the ground hard, groaning as they felt the powerful hit all over, but pushed themselves back to their feet. They ran at Necrolai again, who easily dodged their attacks.

"Magi Staff, sword mode!" Ari called on her swords and shot at Necrolai, who blocked it by grabbing the blades. She let out a hiss as it stung, before hauling Ari into the air and tossing her through the air, where she crashed to the ground on some steps.

"Silly Rangers!" Necrolai cackled as they got back to their feet. She began spinning, taking the four out as they ran at her. "They're all yours," Necrolai laughed as she looked to the monster.

"I'm gonna rock this town!" he declared as he walked towards the fallen Rangers. An engine roared as they attempted to get up, and they looked around.

"Not on my watch!" Nick called as he appeared, flying through the air on his new bike. He blasted the monster, making it flail backwards. His bike landed in front of the Rangers. "Enough's enough!" the Red Ranger yelled as he climbed off his bike.

"Hey, I want a bike like that!" Chip yelled as they looked at the new bike.

"Me too!" Ari grinned as she sat up, watching as Nick faced the monster.

"You've done enough damage for one day!" he told him as the monster yelled angrily. "Magi Staff!" Nick drew his staff, changing it into its sword form.

"This is too easy!" the monster declared as he prepared to hit Nick with his petrification, but as he fired it, Nick cast a spell and created a mirror from the ground. The spell bounced off the mirror and slammed into the monster, turning him to stone.

"No!" Necrolai cried in horror.

"How do you like that?" Nick taunted as the mirror returned to the ground. "Now to end this! Power of the Phoenix!" Nick was surrounded by flames that shaped like a bird, and he flew towards the monster, slamming into him and destroying him. The people nearby who had been hit by the spell were returned to normal, and ran off.

"Koragg! Help this worthless heap!" Necrolai yelled furiously, kicking a piece of the shattered monster aside. A purple spell seal appeared below the monster, and he reassembled before their eyes, and began to grow.

"No way!" Nick groaned as the Rangers regrouped.

"Oh great, the growing big part. This part always sucks," Ari complained as the monster towered over them.

"We've gotta do something!" Xander yelled, before Maddie ran up to them, back to normal.

"Maddie!" Vida smiled as she looked to her sister. "You're ok!" Maddie smiled at her, nodding.

"Looks like I got here just in time," the Blue Ranger told her.

"Hey, Madison...I was a jerk. I'm sorry I said you were too shy," Nick turned to her and apologised.

"Apology accepted, let's just forget about it," Maddie told him softly, smiling a little at him. Her morpher chimed, taking her by surprise. She opened her morpher, and found that she had gained a new spell code as well. "I guess we both learned something today," she gave him a larger smile as she looked up.

"We sure did," Nick agreed.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" Maddie morphed, and they all called on their Titan forms, ready to take on the monster.

"You can't handle this!" he roared at them.

"Watch us!" Nick yelled as they faced him.

"Let's try my new spell code!" Madison suggested.

"Go for it sis!" Vida called from Xander's shoulder. They cast the new spell, and all of them began to glow. They combined to create a Megazord, and all of them reappeared inside, holding their Magi Staffs.

"Whoa, this place is freaky," Xander looked around as they were moved around.

"It's a little different," Ari nodded as she looked around.

"I get it! The cockpit is like a chessboard! We control our fight with strategical moves," Maddie realised as they moved around, getting into place.

"Lucky for me I belong to the chess club at school!" Chip grinned as he moved past Maddie.

"I'm terrible at chess," Ari mused.

"Ok guys! Let's get serious!" Nick shouted to them as they all moved into place at last. "TITAN MEGAZORD!" they put their hands over the front of their controls, and they lit up, activating the Megazord.

"That doesn't scare me!" the monster was unfazed by their new power, and blasted them. "Got him!" the monster celebrated as smoke rose around the Megazord.

"Not even close!" Nick yelled as the smoke cleared to reveal that they were unharmed, having used their wings to shield themselves from the attack.

"What?!" the monster cried out in horror, and the six moved forwards in their chess pieces, ready to attack again.

"TITAN SABRE!" the Rangers summoned their weapon and slashed across the monster's front as he ran at them. "Altogether!" Nick shouted, and they called on even more power. "ANCIENT POWER, MYSTIC SPELL SEAL!" they called on their final attack, destroying the monster with a spell seal. "Checkmate!"

1-2-3-4-5

As they returned to Rock Porium to continue working, music filled the shop as Vida returned to the decks. Maddie filmed her as she danced, and grinned to her sister.

"Make sure you get my good side sis!" Vida called as she turned around, dancing even more.

"You have a good side?" Ari asked innocently as she walked past with a box. She dodged the paper ball that was thrown at her, and laughed as she moved away quickly.

"Excuse me, is Maddie here?" Ari glanced around as the boy they had seen in the park with Maddie when she had been petrified. He looked a little nervous. Ari grinned and nodded, pointing over to where she was still filming her sister dancing away. "Thanks," he smiled, and walked over to Maddie, standing in front of her camera. She jumped, and the two walked off, talking.

"What's going on?" Xander asked as he stood by Ari, who was watching the pair.

"Maddie's got a boyfriend," Ari giggled, and Xander leaned on the box still in her arms. "Watch it dork, you'll make me drop it," she complained, struggling to keep her grip on it.

"Such harsh words, what happened to our unrivalled bond?" Xander just grinned at her, and Nick rolled his eyes as he walked past the pair.

* * *

**Let me know what you thought!**

**Please review!**


	7. Legendary Catastros

**So I initially wasn't going to write Legendary Catastros as a chapter, but after watching it on TV I decided I wanted to. **

**I hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Legendary Catastros

"Gather around Rangers, and hear the story of the beast stallion," Udonna spoke up from the Xenotome. A storm had hit outside, and was causing the lights inside of Rootcore to flicker, granting her the perfect atmosphere for her tale. "Whose strength was known across the land. The Legendary Catastros," the story lit up in the book.

"Oh, I love this story," Althea smiled as an illusion of Catastros flew from the book and galloped through the air, into the globe to reveal his story.

"Many have tried in vain to break the mightiest creature of them all," the six Rangers watched as the globe showed many in the magical community attempted to tame the powerful horse, and were thrown around. "But Catastros was stronger than a hundred men, and no-one was able to harness his fearsome power. Catastros fled into the forest during the great battle of good and evil, but before the seal was closed, evil reached up and dragged Catastros down to the lowest depths of the pit," they watched as the horse fled through the forest as fighting went on all around, until a spell seal appeared and brought him down.

"That was the scariest story I have ever heard," Chip announced when the image faded. "Tell it again!" he pleaded.

"Even I'm a little freaked out," Vida admitted, and frowned when she saw the others smirk. "Just a little," she shrugged.

"Well I'm not scared," Xander grinned, before the lights dulled and they were plunged into darkness. With a laugh, Althea waved her hand and restored the lights to reveal Xander in Ari's arms, Scooby-Doo style. "Just making sure you're safe Ari," he tried with a smile.

"Aw, how sweet," Ari smiled, and proceeded to drop him. "Dork," she rolled her eyes as the others laughed.

"You guys can't possibly be afraid of a silly horse," Nick rolled his eyes.

"Be warned Nick, Catastros is no 'silly horse'," Althea smiled as Xander got to his feet, brushing himself off as he frowned at Ari.

"But Koragg must have tamed him, since he has control over him," Maddie spoke up.

"Yes, for Catastros remains loyal to Koragg to this day," Udonna nodded as she walked over.

"It wasn't really that scary a story though," Ari shrugged, resting a hand on her hip. "I could tell you about the Abyss of Evil, now that's a scary story!" she grinned.

"I think we've had enough scary stories for one day," Maddie frowned at the Gold Ranger, who pouted.

"Aw, but that sounds awesome!" Chip pouted as well.

"How do you know of the Abyss of Evil?" Udonna frowned at Ari.

"Wait, that thing is real?" Althea looked from Udonna to Ari. The Gold Ranger laughed, nodding.

"It's in Blue Bay Harbour, that's why the Wind Ninja Academy is there," she explained. "It broke open when I was there, but when we beat Lothor it sealed over...until he broke it open..." Ari added.

"Wait, when did that happen?" Xander frowned at her.

"When I was in Reefside. It's closed over now," Ari waved it off casually. "When we escaped from it it sealed over again," she told them.

"You...escaped..." Althea frowned. "You mean to tell me that you were _inside _the Abyss of Evil?" Ari paused as she realised what she had been saying.

"Um...no?" Ari tried innocently.

"Ahh, don't you just love a good brainstorm?" before Althea could press it, Claire's voice rang through Rootcore, and everyone looked around at her. They all stared, trying not to laugh as they looked at her head, which looked to be covered in a strange cream mixture. "Washes away the stress of the day," she smiled.

"Claire...you're steaming," Maddie giggled as they couldn't stop laughing.

"Yeah, I crossed a hot cocoa spell with a spell of protection," Claire smiled brightly. "It keeps me warm on these cold, stormy nights," she told them.

"Your hair..." Vida managed to say through her laughter. Confused, Claire touched her hair and tasted the strange covering on her hair. She let out a horrified scream in realisation. "I forgot to omit the part about the toppings!" she cried. "I'm allergic to whipped cream!" she screeched, and sneezed loudly, jerking forwards. Cream flew from her head, and splattered Udonna, and the Rangers covered their mouths, attempting to hide their laughter. Scowling, Udonna walked off, and Claire turned to the others. "Quick, Nick! Point your wand at me and say '_finishio_'!" she told him, and sneezed again. "It'll make it disappear. Hurry!" she pleaded as Nick jumped down from the table and flicked out his wand.

"_Finishio_?" Nick tried as Claire sneezed loudly again. The cream disappeared from Claire's head, and she sighed in relief.

"Thanks Nick," the apprentice smiled thankfully at him. "Well, I better go," she told them, and pushed past, bright red.

1-2-3-4-5

Sitting upside down on the sofa while reading, Ari was enjoying her night off from studying in Rootcore. The storm had lightened up for a bit, and the Rangers had gone home before it got worse again.

"Do you ever do anything normally?" peering over the top of her book, Ari looked up at the fair-haired girl that was her sister-in-law.

"Not that I've ever seen," Ari's eldest brother Joe chuckled as he walked in, and Ari rolled off the sofa.

"Well you don't watch me constantly, so how would you know?" Ari smiled, and hugged Hannah as the woman laughed.

"Well, do you do anything normally?" Joe countered, and Ari rolled her eyes. "I didn't think so. Nice to see you at home for once," he added. "Krista has missed you," Ari smiled widely as her niece ran in, straight into the Ranger's legs.

"Hey there chipmunk, you still trying to kill me?" Ari teased as she hauled the toddler into her arms. Krista, who had been born shortly before Ari had gone to Reefside, giggled up at her. Her blonde hair curled and fell in her face, almost hiding her bright blue eyes.

"Aunt Awi! Papa said I can pway on your boawd like you do!" Krista told her happily, and Ari looked up at her brother with a raised eyebrow. Joe went red, aware that Hannah was now frowning at him.

"Maybe wait till you're at least half my height, then maybe I'll let you play on my board," Ari grinned, very aware that Krista's father was in a lot of trouble now.

"Aww, but you're so big!" Krista complained, stretching up as if to emphasize this.

"And your papa is even bigger, so soon enough you'll be even bigger than me!" Ari exclaimed, and Krista laughed loudly.

"As long as you're a good girl and do what mama tells you," Hannah smiled as Ari passed the toddler to her. Krista nodded quickly, her hair bouncing about and hitting her mother in the face.

"How's your brother doing?" Ari asked the young woman, who smiled as she patted down her daughter's hair.

"Much better thanks, he's almost completely shifted his cold," Hannah told her. Ari smiled, having met her younger brother a few times. He was a few years younger than Ari, and lived in Harwood County, where Hannah was from as well. Shooting her husband a look that told him they would talk later, Hannah walked into the kitchen.

"You're in trouble now," Ari giggled, turning to her brother.

"You know, I meant she could when she was older," Joe sighed, shaking his head as Ari grinned. She lifted her book from the floor, before Joe hummed.

"So, is this what I think it is?" Ari looked around and her eyes widened as she saw him holding her morpher.

"Joe! Give that back!" she reached out for it, but her brother stepped back, holding it up in the light. "Come on, don't do this!" Ari pleaded as she jumped at him for it, but her brother just moved out of the way, continuing to avoid her as Ari groaned.

"It's different to your first morpher," Ari stopped, and groaned. "What, you think I didn't know that the new Gold Ranger was you?" Joe looked down at her, his eyebrow raised. "You're always out doing something, mum and dad said you're coming back covered in even more cuts and bruises, and I do watch the news now and again," he told her.

"You know what it is, now can I have it back?" she pleaded, and after a moment Joe handed it back to her. "It's annoying that you keep figuring it out," Ari muttered. She hadn't been back in Briarwood long before he had revealed that he also knew that she had been the Dino Thunder Gold Ranger.

"It's not my fault you make it obvious," Joe countered as Ari returned her morpher to it's pouch clipped to her belt.

"Joe, just knowing puts you in danger, you know that," Ari frowned at him.

"I know, that's why I keep it to myself," the tall blond told her, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Ari, I'll keep out of trouble like always. You're the trouble-seeker," he grinned, and Ari went red.

"Oh, shut up and let's get dinner," she muttered, stomping into the kitchen as her brother laughed.

1-2-3-4-5

The next morning Ari arrived in Rock Porium on time, much to the shock of Toby.

"That's gotta be a first," she glanced around at Xander, who was leaning on the counter with a magazine in his hands. "You're earlier than Nick," Ari looked around, and found that he was right. The Red Ranger wasn't there.

"Weird...wonder what's keeping him," she mused as she took the magazine from Xander and flicked through it. "Normally he's like the first one here," she commented.

"And how would you know that, when you're usually the last in?" the Green Ranger questioned, taking it back as Ari grinned.

"I could be in earlier, but that would make the rest of you guys look bad," she told him, and Xander rolled his eyes.

"Sure you could. The day that Vida accepts that she likes pink," he smirked, and Vida shot him a glare from the other side of the shop, having heard him.

"Or the day that you manage to not ask for Vida to rearrange your limbs," Ari retorted, before looking around as Nick walked in, looking exhausted.

"Nice of you to join us," Xander commented, but Nick just walked straight past him.

"Sorry I'm late. I didn't sleep much," he sighed as he put on his work shirt.

"Aww, did that scary thunder keep you up?" Vida teased him, and Nick scowled at her. "Oh, I forgot. You're not afraid of anything, right?" she smirked.

"Very funny. Go pick on Ari, she doesn't seem to be scared of anything either," he told the Pink Ranger.

"I didn't even speak! Why are you picking on me?" Ari demanded as Xander just patted her head. Their morphers suddenly chimed, and they grabbed them quickly.

"No rest for the weary," Maddie smiled sympathetically at Nick as they hurried out.

"Let's go!" Vida called out as they ran out, and Toby remained completely oblivious to them as he listened to music behind the counter.

1-2-3-4-5

Having been alerted to dark magic gathering in town, the Rangers sprinted towards it as quickly as they could, and just as they reached the place, the ground shook.

"Look!" Maddie spotted Koragg first as he leapt into the air, casting the spell to summon Catastros.

"Let's Ranger up!" Nick yelled, and they quickly grabbed their morphers.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they morphed as Koragg combined with the powerful horse, forming his Megazord.

"Prepare to be defeated!" he roared down at them as he drew his swallow-tail weapon.

"Zord action right off the bat. I really don't like how this day is starting," Ari frowned, and they called on their Titan power, and went into their Dragon Formation with Nick riding on their back.

"Fire!" Nick yelled, and they shot a blast of fire at Koragg that knocked the powerful dark Knight backwards.

"That was nothing!" Koragg yelled as he called on his purple magic. He slashed them with it, and the Titans all crashed to the ground, breaking apart. "Get up and fight!" he demanded as they groaned. However, something hit him from behind, and Koragg's Megazord staggered.

"That will teach you to lie to Morticon!" Necrolai called up, and Koragg whirled around.

"What?! I will crush you, hag," Koragg snarled down at her.

"Hah! You'll have to catch me first!" the bat mocked, leaping into the air and flying off.

"My own allies are turning against me..." Koragg breathed in horror.

"Well duh, you're evil, that's what the bad guys do," Ari groaned as she continued to try and get up.

"I must deal with this!" Koragg ignored her, and cast another spell.

"No!" Nick leapt up and tackled the Megazord before he could leave the battle. The purple light beneath them exploded, and Koragg was separated from Catastros, and all three went flying, before Catastros and Nick were sucked through the warped spell seal.

"Nick!" Vida cried out in horror.

"No, stop!" Xander yelled, but Koragg had disappeared, and so had Nick and Catastros.

1-2-3-4-5

"Udonna!"

"Althea!" as soon as they reached Rootcore, the Rangers called out for their mentors.

"What? What is it?" Udonna asked as she hurried down the steps, closely followed by Althea.

"Nick's gone!" Chip told her quickly as they ran over to the pair.

"We tried to contact him on his morpher, but he didn't answer," Vida told them when they frowned.

"Take a breath and then explain what happened," Althea told them gently, seeing them all looking panicked.

"Ok, we're battling Koragg, and then poof! Nick gets sucked into a seal with Catastros!" Xander told the pair. Udonna and Althea exchanged worried looks.

"Necrolai attacked Koragg and he went off to deal with their dissension issues, and Nick tried to stop Koragg, breaking apart his Megazord," Ari added in.

"Nick must have disrupted an evil spell and..."

"Warped the dark seal," Althea finished, nodding worriedly. "This is a big problem. Very big," she walked past them and over to the globe.

"Since we do not know what dimension Nick is in, I can't transport you there," Udonna explained.

"We have to do something!" Chip yelled, horrified at the thought that their leader was stuck somewhere alone, dealing with the powerful Catastros. "Come on guys," they ran over to the globe by Althea, but she shook her head.

"He is somewhere that even the crystal ball cannot find him," she sighed.

"This bad...this is really bad," Vida groaned.

1-2-3-4-5

Furious, Vida whacked a stick against a tree trunk and tossed it aside.

"I can't wrap my head around it," she growled. "Nick's gone...really gone," she muttered as she caught up with Chip.

"Well, technically he's just gone from this dimension," Chip told her with a small smile. When Vida and Maddie both looked at him with raised eyebrows, he shrugged. "Technically," he repeated.

"Thanks for that, really raised the spirits there Chip," Ari sighed.

"There's gotta be something we can do to get him back," Maddie spoke up as Chip looked sheepish.

"But even Udonna didn't have an answer. Neither did Althea," Xander shook his head. "Nick's in real trouble this time," he sighed. Suddenly a figure swung down from the trees, and the five cried out in shock, jumping back.

"What's that?" the figure turned around quickly. "Nick's in trouble?" he demanded.

"Who are you?" Xander demanded.

"More like what are you?" Vida corrected, all of them on edge as they stared at the strange creature.

"Drumroll, please," he muttered over his shoulder to nobody. "I'm Phineas," he told them.

"Phineas? That's...you're the Troblin dude that Nick told us about!" Ari realised, recognising the name of the magical creature that had saved Claire and later helped their Red Ranger.

"But he didn't tell us that you were so...well...freaky!" Chip told him with a wide grin.

"Aw, stop it now, I'm blushin'," Phineas waved him off with a bashful smile. "Come on, come on," Chip's awe was replaced by disgust as he was pulled into a hug by the strange Troblin. "Gimme a hug!" he was quickly pushed away. "Ok, too soon," he raised his hands, backing away, before looking at the other four. "Oh...girls..." he looked from Maddie, to Ari and then to Vida. "I love that...oh! What's this about Nick being in trouble?" he asked quickly.

"He's trapped in an evil dimension," Maddie told him sadly. "There's nothing we can do to get him out," she shrugged.

"Oh, well, I guess giving up is the right thing to do," Phineas nodded in understanding. "Hey, no point in getting up just to fall back on your face again, I always say," he laughed lightly.

"Hey, who said anything about giving up?" Ari demanded.

"Yeah, we didn't say we were giving up," Xander frowned.

"Oh, my mistake," Phineas raised his hands in defence. "So you're moping around here with the...long faces is actually helping Nick," he walked past them as they all watched him. "Yeah, I get things wrong sometimes," Phineas nodded.

"He's right," Vida nodded. "Walking around feeling helpless isn't gonna bring Nick back," she told the others, who nodded in agreement.

"I agree, we've got to at least try," Xander told them.

"After all, we're Power Rangers," Chip grinned triumphantly. Laughing a little, they ran back to Rootcore, ready to try and find Nick.

1-2-3-4-5

"Nomininmini...ness...rox!" Xander tried another spell by the crystal, but once again it failed.

"Did it work?" Chip asked hopefully as he walked over.

"No! And I even winked," Xander complained.

"What's that? The Crystal Ball _didn't _fall victim to your charms?" Ari smirked, not looking up from the book she was skimming through at the table.

"Let's try this one," Chip suggested as Xander hit the Gold Ranger over the head with his book lightly. "It's supposed to contact lost loved ones," he held up his wand, and cast the spell, but nothing happened. "Come on!" Chip groaned.

"Don't get frustrated. Just keep trying," Maddie told them from the Xenotome.

"We're still trying but there aren't that many spells that help locate missing Rangers in different dimensions," Ari told her with a sigh, shoving the book aside and moving onto the next one in the pile.

"Hey guys!" they looked around as Vida called out. "It says here 'a spell of transport is a one way deal, unless a source can reverse the seal'," she read out as they ran over.

"Oh goody, a riddle," Maddie smiled.

"Reverse the seal?" Chip repeated with a frown. "But how?" he questioned.

"Reverse the seal...reverse..." Ari mumbled as she thought about it. "Oh...reverse the spell, and that'll reverse the seal!" she realised.

"You think that if we say the spell backwards, the seal will be reversed and send Nick back?" Maddie asked her, and Ari nodded.

"Just one problem with this theory," Ari folded her arms, and gave a weak smile. "Can anyone actually remember the spell Koragg cast?" their hopeful smiles instantly dropped.

"Oh, it was something like, 'fettuccine alfredo'!" Chip told them, and they all looked at him with raised eyebrows. "It was!" he insisted.

"Somehow, I don't think it's going to be that easy..." Ari sighed. They all looked around as they heard a loud roar echo from the crystal ball, and ran over as it showed a new monster attacking the city.

"Looks like we're going to have to deal with him first," Xander told the other four.

"Keep thinking Chip, you have to remember that spell," Maddie told the Yellow Ranger as they drew their morphers and flipped them open.

"Uh, pe-peppercini all-day-oh..." he tried, and they gave him a flat stare. "Uh...ready?" he called, avoiding their looks.

"Ready!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they morphed and hurried off to battle, where the monster towered over them.

"Let's make this interesting!" the monster declared, calling on more power. He grew even larger and his armour began even tougher, making them groan.

"I knew today was gonna be a bad day," Ari whined. They called on their Titan magic and began to fight, but the monster was a lot more powerful than they were. They rushed at the monster, attacking him, but his armour was too thick for them.

"Boulder blast!" the monster threw large boulders at them, slamming into the Titans and knocking them to the ground.

"We _have _to remember that spell," Maddie groaned.

"We're going to need Megazord power to take this freak down...but till we can get Nick back, we gotta keep fighting or this freak will destroy the city!" Ari yelled, and shot into the air. She dodged the boulders that were hurled at her, and rammed into the monster. He stumbled backwards, and Ari fell backwards, before the monster caught her wing and slammed her into a building. "Anyone else want to step in?" the Gold Ranger yelled out.

"You see why you don't charge in without thinking?" Xander yelled as he used his axe to attack the monster and force him to release Ari.

"Yeah, that's normally your job," Ari shot back.

"Hey, I remember the spell!" Chip spoke up suddenly. "It was_ Basalichi Infredo_!" he told them.

"You want to say that backwards?" Ari yelled as she and Xander were thrown back by the rampaging monster.

"Oderfni Ichilisab?" Chip tried, and a red spell seal appeared. They heard a yell, and Nick, along with Catastros, rode through the seal.

"Go Catastros!" Nick cheered.

"Look, it's Nick!" Vida laughed happily.

"I can't believe it worked!" Chip grinned.

"I can't believe he's riding Catastros!" Ari exclaimed as Nick rode past.

"Hey guys! Need a little help!" the Red Ranger called to them. "Centaurus Phoenix Megazord!" he combined with the powerful horse, creating an even more powerful Megazord.

"Whoa, he combined with Catastros!" Xander yelled.

"This is nuts!" Vida exclaimed as they watched.

"This is how it's done, Red Ranger style!" red magic surrounded the weapon that was like Koragg's, and Nick spun it as he approached the monster.

"I'm not afraid of you!" the monster roared, running to meet him.

"Come on!" Nick challenged. The two fought it out, but it was clear that Nick was much stronger. "I'm all fired up!" the Red Ranger called as the back of the Megazord lit up red. When the monster hurled more boulders at him, he cut through them with it, and destroyed the monster.

"Nick, that was awesome!" the other Rangers ran over to him.

"Thanks Catastros," Nick patted the horse, only for him to rear up and throw the Red Ranger off. "No, wait!" he pleaded as Catastros ran off, straight towards Koragg. The Knight combined with Catastros to form his Centaur Zord form.

"Catastros rides with me," Koragg told him coldly.

"No! But I thought he had changed!" Nick got back up, horrified.

"I don't know how you were able to combine with my mighty Catastros, but I promise you I will find out," Koragg warned Nick. "Something about you is troubling," he commented, more to himself than the others.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Nick asked curiously.

"We will meet again, Red Ranger," Koragg didn't answer him, and backed away into another spell seal, disappearing.

"I don't understand..." Nick sighed.

1-2-3-4-5

"Man, Nick gets all the cool stuff," Ari complained as she slumped over the desk, not bothering to read the book in front of her. "Stupid reds," she muttered.

"Jealousy isn't becoming of you Ari," Xander commented, and she shot him a scowl.

"Yeah, it's more a green colour, don't you think?" she challenged.

"Ohh, I love when Ari gets snippy, it's always fun," Vida grinned as Xander went red and frowned back at Ari.

"I don't, it's always me she picks on," the Green Ranger grumbled. Ari stuck out her tongue, and when Xander hit her over the head with his book, she tackled him off his chair.

"Why is it you two can never behave for longer than five minutes?" Althea sighed as she removed her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"We've been wondering that too," Maddie sighed as the two rolled along the ground. Ari's laughter exploded through Rootcore as Xander managed to pin her down and poke her sides. "Since we were little," Maddie shook her head and tried to focus on her book as Ari flailed around the ground.

"Ari, apologise and I'll let you up," the smirking Green Ranger told her.

"Never!" Ari managed to say as tears of laughter appeared in her eyes. She continued to flail around as he poked her sides again.

"That's not the right answer," Xander told her as the others sighed.

"Even after a day like this, you guys are still messing around?" Nick questioned as he and Udonna walked in.

"It's normally the only way to stop Ari from being grumpy," Chip shrugged, and Xander nodded as he stopped tickling the girl long enough to look up.

"I did not sign up for this when I tried to help old man you find his brother," Nick told Udonna, who hid her smile as Althea laughed loudly.

* * *

**It's been a pretty busy week, and next weekend is going to be even busier since it's QCon once again! So I don't think I'll be updating very often between now and then, as I have quite a bit to do between now and then (plus I can't stop watching Rooster Teeth Let's Plays).**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Please review!**


	8. Fireheart

**I am so sorry for the late update! I've been working so much over the last couple of days, since three people have had to take time off work this week and I've really been the only one who was able to cover their shifts. Plus, I had to make a Metapod plushie and a cake for QCon tomorrow!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Fireheart

"Alrighty! Work the beat! Work the beat! Stocking doesn't have to be boring!" Xander cheered his friends on as they each sorted the stock in front of them, while he rolled past on a chair. Ari considering using her powers to break the chair, but as it lit up in her hand, Xander spotted her and she quickly put it out, smiling innocently. The Green Ranger frowned suspiciously at her, and turned around, only to let out a startled cry as he came face to face with a cardboard cut out of a man in heavy black make-up with bad teeth and a goatee. Toby looked out from behind it, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, it's you boss," Xander stood up quickly as he managed to calm his panicked heart.

"Nice work Xander! I like the way you've gotten everyone...working!" Toby praised him, and the rest of the group just rolled their eyes. "You, are a born leader!" he told the Australian, who looked around as the Rangers scoffed and looked back at what they were doing.

"Hear that guys? Born leader!" he grinned to them widely, and they rolled their eyes again.

"Is that why he wears the Green suit?" Ari muttered, and Nick disguised his laughter as a cough.

"Who's the old guy boss?" shooting Nick a frown, Xander turned back to their boss.

"'_Who's the old guy_'?!" Toby repeated, looking horrified. "Guys! Jake Bonebreaker!" seeing that they were all blank, Toby gestured wildly to the cardboard cutout. "The man who put metal, in metalhead? Lead guitar and vocal of metal mega classic, Hairy Hatchet!" they all just looked blank, never having heard of him,

"That rings a bell. I think he's that old dude my mum had a mad crush on when she was like, my age," Ari's comment made them all laugh, and Toby scowl.

"Ok, your lesson. Play it, like it! Class dismissed," Toby ordered, and disappeared into his office. The five actually working returned to what they were doing, still laughing at their boss.

"Guys, who wants to take care of the king of metal?" Xander turned and looked to them.

"Not me!" Nick refused instantly.

"Me neither," Madison looked up and grimaced at the thought. "He's older than my dad," she added, and her sister laughed.

"I got things to do," the Pink Ranger told him with a smirk.

"Sorry, heavy metal makes my nose bleed," Chip shrugged, looking up apologetically.

"I'll pass. He's creepy looking," Ari chuckled, not looking up from what she was doing.

"Fine! I'll do it myself!" Xander sighed dramatically. "Like everything else around here..." he complained, turning back to the cut-out. Continuing to work, the others didn't notice him lift his morpher and cast a spell on the cut-out, bringing it to life.

"_Hello _Cincinnaati!" they all looked up in surprise to see the man looking a little confused.

"Oops..." Xander's eyes widened as he lowered his morpher. "There's a slight magical malfunction..." he gulped as the others laughed. Their morphers then chimed, stopping them all from laughing.

"_We got trouble on your end of the forest Rangers. There's very strong dark magical energy in Briarwood,_" Althea warned the Rangers as they all drew their morphers.

"We can't all split on Toby," Nick told them as they gathered together, abandoning their work. "V and I will check it out. You guys help with...heavy metal boy," Nick started laughing as he and Vida ran off to see what was going on, while the man began playing air guitar loudly.

"Do you want some metal?" he yelled, and they all looked a little alarmed. "Well I want...some prunes..." he decided. The remaining four Rangers grimaced, exchanging disgusted looks.

"How come Nick and Vida got the good gig?" Ari complained as she leaned against the counter.

"Maybe cause he wears the Red suit?" Xander replied, shooting her a look that told her that he had heard what she said. Ari just smiled, but her cheeks went red at being caught out.

"Gold never gets to do fun stuff anyway," she muttered, swinging her legs as she hoisted herself onto the counter and sat there.

"Except, you know, be a ninja with loads of super cool powers and save the world three times?" Chip commented as he leaned beside her.

"Except that," Ari shrugged, going even redder. She leaned back and lifted a box of strawberries that she had kept hidden behind the counter, and started eating them. As Jake danced around the shop, Xander leaned on the counter on Ari's other side. "Great work dork," she nudged him, and he glanced at her with a frown.

"If you don't stop calling me a dork, I will go back to using that nickname," he warned, and she pouted. "And there's no point in trying that face," Xander just put a hand on her face, and stole a strawberry from her. "Man, he is totally gross," the young man commented as he looked back to the dancing cardboard cut-out come to life.

"Well hey, we can't all be as disgustingly handsome as you," Ari commented as she bit into another strawberry.

"True," Xander nodded, grinning. Chip reached over to steal a strawberry as well, and yelped as Ari slapped his hand away.

"How come he gets to share?" he complained, nursing his injured hand as Xander smirked. He wrapped his arms around Ari, almost pulling her off the counter. She barely reacted, just patting his head and continuing to eat her strawberries while she watched Jake dancing.

"Cause she likes me best," he told the Yellow Ranger, who pouted as Xander grabbed another. Ari rolled her eyes.

"Boys, behave or I will ground you both," she warned. A couple of customers walked in, and stared at Jake as he flailed around, making loud guitar noises.

"Mate, can you dial it down to ten please?" Xander walked over and yelled to make himself heard as the customers immediately left. "We don't want to bring in Toby-"

"Jake Bonebreaker!" Toby burst out of his office as he saw his idol, who was completely ignoring Xander. "In my record shop!" he cried as Jake finally stopped screeching and grinned to the starstruck boss.

"Too late," Ari grinned, not moving.

"I need a camera! Need a camera..." Toby ran back into his office quickly. As soon as he did, the four Rangers's morphers chimed and they grabbed them quickly.

"Nick and Vida are in trouble, let's go!" Chip called, and they ran out of the shop, only to pause when they remembered why they had stayed behind in the first place.

"What about Jake?" Maddie asked as they looked around. The man had resumed rocking out to nothing, flailing around the shop as he screeched.

"One more try," Xander held out his morpher and cast the spell again, returning the man to his cardboard form. They then sprinted out of the shop, leaving Toby to encounter the cut out and become very confused once again.

1-2-3-4-5

Morphed and ready to help, the four Rangers ran to where Nick and Vida were fighting.

"There they are!" Xander spotted them in a car park, fighting off a monster while Necrolai watched.

"Time to end this party!" the bat decided as she saw them. She whistled loudly, and the monster turned into a taxi. "Deliver the map!" she ordered, and the taxi sped away.

"That's just crazy!" Vida groaned, feeling the beating that she and the Red Ranger had just taken.

"What map?" Ari wondered, and they ran to chase after the monster. However, they had all turned their backs on Necrolai, who blasted them with dark energy and slammed them to the ground.

"That's nothing compared to the power I'll soon have!" she told them as they groaned, trying to get back to their feet. With a shriek, she flew off.

"More power?" Vida asked, horrified at the thought of it. The bat was already very powerful.

"Let's go after her!" Nick yelled as he got up and ran to chase after the pair, but Xander grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Wait! We've got another problem," he pointed up, and they all followed his gaze to see a camera pointed straight at them.

"Smile! Looks like we're on camera," Maddie gulped.

"Please tell me you didn't morph in front of it," Ari looked to Nick and Vida, who remained very quiet.

1-2-3-4-5

"You need to protect your identities at all cost," Udonna scolded Nick and Vida as they watched the footage that they had managed to retrieve before anyone else had seen it. "This tape could put us all in danger," she told them. They watched silently as the video showed Nick and Vida morphing, before going back to show Necrolai.

"Wait, what was that?" Maddie frowned, and flipped out her morpher. She used it to zoom in on Necrolai, who was holding a piece of battered paper.

"Looks like some kinda map..." Nick frowned.

"That's no ordinary map!" Althea realised as she stepped closer, adjusting her glasses to study the picture on the screen. "It's been written by the Ancients!" she looked around at the others in surprise.

"Hmm..." Maddie raised her morpher "Let's take a closer look," she cast a spell, and the map in the picture was replicated, appearing on the console. Udonna lifted it, studying it curiously.

"Oh my...I thought this was lost!" after a moment, her eyes widened. "It's the map to the Fireheart!" Udonna exclaimed, and Althea looked at it quickly, just as shocked.

"The Fireheart? No way!" Chip exclaimed, making them all look at him. "What's the Fireheart?" he asked after a short pause.

"The ancients believed it to be a tremendous source of power," Udonna told them as she and her old friend stared at it.

"Which means _we _need to find it, before Necrolai gets her scaly little hands on it!" Vida exclaimed, scowling at the thought of Necrolai gaining more power.

"It's not going to be that easy," Ari's mother told them as she looked up. "It says you must go through the Cimmerian Forest," Althea shivered at the thought.

"That's alright, we like forests, don't we guys?" Xander grinned.

"This one is unlike any you know," Udonna frowned at the confident Green Ranger. "Imagine your worst nightmare," she stated, looking grim.

"That's easy," Chip told her with a grin. "My mom puts my cell phone in the dryer, and the next time we morph, my uniform is really tiny," the other five teens started laughing at him.

"Enough!" Udonna scolded as she and Althea looked up sharply. Neither looked impressed in the slightest. "You are about to begin the most dangerous journey you have ever undertaken," Udonna told them. "Your path will be filled with unimaginable danger. Evil creatures, ravenous demons. Now go," she held out the map to Nick who took it slowly. "Remember, returning with the Fireheart will not be your success. Your success, will be to return at all," she spoke softly, her eyes filled with worry.

"I'll stay here, just in case there's a problem in Briarwood," Althea decided, and the Rangers nodded, moving out to start their search. "Be careful," she called out to them, and they grinned back at her before leaving. Althea exchanged a worried glance with Udonna, hoping they would be ok.

1-2-3-4-5

"This isn't...so bad..." Chip spoke, trying to remain optimistic as they wandered through the forest, all of them wondering just how bad the Cimmerian Forest could be. The group of six stopped as they came across a sign nailed to a tree, reading 'GO BACK! CIMMERIAN FOREST AHEAD'.

"Was it really necessary to put three exclamation points in?" Ari frowned, folding her arms.

"I'm not looking forward to this," Maddie complained as they followed Nick, trying to ignore the sign.

"Me neither," the Red Ranger muttered as he looked down at the map in his hand.

"I am," Xander determined, smiling as he walked to the front of the group. "I'll take the lead on this one. I know how to read maps pretty well," he told Nick, who raised an eyebrow. He looked uncertain as the Green Ranger looked confident.

"Are you sure?" Nick asked slowly.

"Like Toby said, I'm a born leader," Xander nodded quickly, grinning widely. Ari just rolled her eyes and shrugged as Chip glanced at her with a grin.

"Ok..." Nick relented and handed it over. "It's all yours," he said.

"Ok...team Xander! Onward," Xander cheered as he took the map and started leading the way. They followed him through the forest as he glanced down at the map now and again, all of them quiet, nervous of what was to come. When they came across skeletons scattered around, they all looked at them, and exchanged looks.

"This is my kinda place," Chip grinned as he spotted the skull of a large creature.

"Sure isn't mine," Maddie gave a nervous laugh.

"Mine either," Ari agreed, looking up at the sky, which was almost completely covered by the thick trees. It was already starting to affect her powers, she could feel it. They all jolted when they heard a loud noise echoing through the forest.

"Ok, what was that?" Maddie asked, a quiver in her voice as they looked around.

"Just keep moving," Nick told them, trying to keep his own voice steady as Xander continued to lead the way.

1-2-3-4-5

Two hours passed with the Rangers walking through the eerie forest. Sometimes it was completely silent, and other times strange noises followed the teens as they continued moving. None of them knew which they preferred.

"Whoa!" Xander called for everyone to stop suddenly, and they all proceeded to walk straight into him, almost knocking him to the ground.

"Next time, just say stop," Vida snapped at him as they all frowned. "Whoa is for horses. I don't see any horses here, do you?" she growled. Xander nodded quickly, managing a smile at the temperamental Pink Ranger.

"Ok, I got it," he told her, looking back down at the map. Another noise echoed around, and they all looked around quickly, gathering even closer together.

"Did you hear that?" Maddie gulped as she stood beside her sister, who looked just as alarmed as she did.

"I've got a feeling that something has been following us since we started," Chip spoke up nervously, making them look at him quickly. "I didn't want to say anything, cause I always think someone's following us," he shrugged, and they laughed a little, before a figure appeared in front of them, upside down. They all cried out, clinging to each other before they saw who it was.

"It's only Phineas," Nick breathed out as the Troblin grinned down at them, hanging from a tree branch. He had been popping up all around the forest when the Rangers were wandering around.

"Oh, it's only the Rangers," Phineas folded his arms and rolled his eyes at them. They couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Sorry Phineas, we're on an important mission," Xander grinned as they relaxed. "Don't have time for a visit," he told the Troblin, but as he went to lead them on, Phineas swung out of the tree, flipping in the air before landing on his feet. The Rangers grinned, impressed by his move.

"Tell you what," Phineas smiled brightly at them. "Seeing as you asked so nicely, I'll take you through the forest," he offered, and they glanced back to their leader.

"Maybe we should let Phineas lead," Nick suggested as he shrugged to Xander. The Green Ranger frowned. "Sounds like he knows the place," the Fire Wizard pointed out, and the other four nodded, agreeing with him. Xander's frown grew.

"I like him! Knows what he's talking about," Phineas grinned at them. "I know this forest like the back of my-" the Troblin stopped as he stared at the back of his hand. "Lucky me! New wart," he told them happily as he poked it.

"Look, don't need any help," Xander decided, smiling at the other Rangers. "I know exactly where I'm going!" he said confidently, looking down at the map for a moment. "This way team," he began moving, and with a small sigh Ari followed. The others glanced to Phineas, before reluctantly following as well.

"Ok...well no problem!" Phineas sounded a little dejected when he called after them "Have a nice day! Just...sorry I'll never ever see you again..." he spoke loud enough for them to hear. "But hey, have fun!" he told them loudly.

1-2-3-4-5

The next hour passed slowly and in silence. Vida and Nick in particular shot Xander irritable glares as he continued leading the way, sure of where they were going. The clouds overhead completely blocked out the sun, which agitated Ari, who was very aware that her powers were dwindling. By this point, they were all exhausted and covered in dirt.

"Hey, hold up!" Nick broke the silence suddenly. "Excuse me, leader?" Nick walked over to Xander, whose confident smile was long gone. "We're going in circles! We've passed that tree stump like three times," he told him irritably. "Admit it, we're lost," he said, but Xander shook his head quickly.

"We are not," Xander argued stubbornly.

"We are too," Nick insisted as both started to get annoyed..

"We are _not_," Xander refused to accept it.

"We _are..._sinking!" Chip realised, interrupting the arguing pair with his loud yell.

"Swamp sand!" Maddie cried out. It had already reached her knees as they all struggled, unable to get loose.

"Oh this is gross!" Ari cried out as she willed her powers to kick in and make her teleport, but nothing happened.

"Everybody Ranger up!" Xander called, and they all grabbed their morphers quickly as they sank fast.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they called, holding their morphers to the sky, but nothing happened. They all froze, looking at their morphers.

"Great, our morphers don't work out here," Chip groaned as they continued to sink. They all scrambled, trying to find something to pull them free. Nick caught hold of a vine, and held onto it tightly.

"Guys! Grab hold!" he yelled to the others, reaching out and catching Vida's arm. Holding onto each other, they hoisted themselves out of the swamp sand, and Nick jumped forwards to grab Xander as he almost submerged. They collapsed on the edge, covered in mud and trying to catch their breath.

"Let's re-evaluate," Nick spoke up as he recovered first. "Take out the map," he looked to Xander, whose eyes widened as he realised he didn't have it. They looked around to see it sitting in the mud, slowly submerging.

"No!" without thinking, Ari dove for it, but an arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her back quickly.

"It's too late! It's gone," Xander held her back as it disappeared under the mud with a loud squelch. "There's no point in you going down with it," he told her as Ari struggled.

"Great," Nick groaned loudly, falling back on the ground, where several leaves clung to his mud covered uniform.

"Map? Who needs a map!" Xander spoke loudly, trying to encourage the others, who had given up. "I looked at that thing a million times! It's all up here!" he told them confidently.

"And that's supposed to make us feel better?" Vida growled at him. Xander didn't respond, and slipped, almost falling back into the swamp sand and taking Ari with him.

1-2-3-4-5

Nobody spoke as they continued walking, all of them still following Xander, even if they weren't happy about it. Uncomfortable in their mud covered clothes, hungry and exhausted, the Rangers continued on their search. When Xander paused, looking at a fork in their path, they all stopped, sighing heavily.

"Now where?" Nick asked irritably, his temper about to spill over. Xander remained silent, looking between the two paths, before focusing on one.

"It's that way!" he decided, but as he started walking, Ari caught his arm.

"Are you sure?" she asked in a quiet voice, looking worried. She knew how Xander got when his pride was on the line. He would do anything to prove himself right.

"Of course," he forced a grin at her, but she didn't look convinced as he started walking, only for Phineas to swing down and startle them again.

"I wouldn't go that way," the Troblin told the alarmed Green Ranger with a smile. He then swung off the branch, flipping through the air before landing on his feet proudly. "Only took me a few years to learn that landing on my feet, was easier than landing on my face," Phineas told them with a chuckle.

"Maybe now would be a good time to ask Phineas for his help?" Maddie approached Xander carefully as she suggested this. They all looked a little hopeful as Xander huffed.

"We don't need anything!" he told them stubbornly, refusing to give in. Ari sighed, knowing that they weren't going to convince him otherwise. "We are fine!" he insisted.

"He's right!" Phineas spoke up brightly. He smiled as the other Rangers sighed heavily. "You don't need anything. Because very soon, you're going to be eaten by a Borbeast," Phineas explained as if discussing the weather. "But hey, once again, have a nice day," Phineas started to walk away as the group looked alarmed.

"He's just trying to scare us!" Xander spoke up, sounding a little panicked and not very reassuring. "Come on guys!" he started walking, but Nick called him back.

"Wait a minute," the Red Ranger shook his head.. "I'm going with Phineas," he decided, going over to Phineas as the Troblin turned around.

"Me too," Vida spoke up, walking over to the pair. She looked over to the remaining three as Xander stared at them with wide eyes. "Guys?" Vida frowned at them. Chip and Maddie shot Xander apologetic looks, and walked over to others. They looked to Ari, who just shrugged, not moving.

"Guys! I know where I'm going!" Xander insisted as his voice rose an octave. "Ok then, ok, I'll cover your shifts for two weekends at the Rock Porium if you stick with me," he offered in an act of desperation. The pair hesitated, looking back at him. Maddie glanced to her sister, who shook her head quickly.

"Sorry Xander," Maddie walked over to her sister, but Chip frowned.

"Make it three," he told Xander.

"Deal," the Green Ranger agreed.

"Can I get in on that?" Ari asked hopefully.

"Too late, you already stuck with me," he grinned, taking her hand to hoist her over a log. Ari groaned, but followed him with a small smile. Chip grinned to the others, who were shaking their heads.

"I've always wanted to see a Borbeast anyway," he told them, and followed the pair as they headed off.

1-2-3-4-5

"It's not much further," Xander told them after a while of walking.

"You said that half an hour ago," Ari grumbled, looking around. When a loud shriek rang out, the three froze. "Please tell me that wasn't a Borbeast," she looked to their leader, who looked alarmed as he looked around.

"Come on," Xander called, and they kept walking, all on edge.

"I don't like this..." Ari muttered. "We shouldn't have split up..." she looked around as she heard more noises. Her senses were going haywire, and the poor sunlight wasn't helping matters.

"I don't like it either," Chip agreed as he walked beside her. "Especially with our magic not working," he added, which only helped to make Ari feel even more uncomfortable.

"Xander," Ari sped up to catch up with the Green Ranger. "You need to stop this. Before we get ourselves killed," she told him softly as she put a hand on his arm. Xander looked down at her, frowning. "Let's just go and find Nick and Vida, find the Fireheart, and head home," she pleaded with him. She was worried about how stubborn he was. While she could be exactly the same, his stubbornness had already caused their group to split up in a dangerous forest.

"I know what I'm doing," he insisted, smiling at her, but it faltered when she shook her head.

"Sensei once told me, that the best quality of a leader, is to understand when to be a follower," Ari repeated what the Sensei of the Wind Ninja Academy had told the Ninja Rangers when Shane and Hunter had clashed, both fighting to be leader.

"You mean the talking rat?" Chip grinned as he walked over.

"He was a guinea-pig," Ari told him with a sigh. "Well, he was human, and then got turned into a guinea-pig, and then turned back into a human," she explained.

"Man, ninjas are so cool," Chip breathed with a grin, making Ari smile weakly at him. Xander put a hand on her head, and Ari looked up at him.

"It's ok, look," he gestured to a clearing. "I think we made it," he rushed off, and Ari groaned. She and Chip followed him quickly, and Xander ran out into the clearing. He let out a relieved laugh as they looked around, a little surprised.

"See gang? Team Xander comes through safe and sound!" he put his arms around the pair, grinning widely.

"I don't remember agreeing to that team name," Ari muttered, before they heard a shriek from above. They looked up, just in time for a huge spider to cover them in a sticky web, pinning them to the ground. "Ok Xander, pretty sure I hate you right now," the Gold Ranger groaned as they struggled to get free.

"Xander, what exactly is your definition of 'safe and sound'?" Chip added as they watched the spider approaching them.

"Ari, can you use your powers to break free of this stuff?" Xander asked the girl as she fought to break free.

"Hear that?" she asked, before a hissing noise filled the air. "That would be my powers telling us that the sunlight has deemed you an idiot and gone where I can't absorb its energy," she told him.

"In other words, no," Chip gulped.

"Guys...this is all my fault," Xander groaned.

"A little late for that..." Ari muttered.

"At least you could volunteer to be eaten first," Chip spoke up, scowling at the young man on the ground beside him.

"If that's what you want!" Xander told him. "I just thought I knew everything. I should have listened to Phineas," the Green Ranger realised, and as if on cue, Phineas flipped through the air.

"It's never too late for that!" he grinned as he landed nearby.

"Phineas!" Ari gave a relieved laugh as they looked over to the smiling Troblin.

"Yoohoo!" the Troblin yelled up at the monster. "Uh, spider! Come and eat me!" Phineas challenged to spider, who shrieked at him. "You know what they say: once you've tasted Troblin, other food will be a problem!" he sang, and laughed again. "Sorry guys, I'm not a great rhymer," he told them. "'Specially at this time...r, get it?" he laughed again as they groaned. "Back to the spider. Come on! Over over here! Come try a rare delicacy!" he taunted the spider. "Troblin tartar!" he lured the spider away, flipping through the air as he laughed.

"Phineas is actually pretty funny," Ari commented, before Phineas leapt out of the way and the spider crashed through a massive hole.

"Ari, you think everything is funny," Chip told her while Phineas did a little victory dance.

"I don't think being trapped by a spider web is funny," she told him, and Phineas ran over. He crouched beside them, and began pulling the web off the three.

"Phineas, will you lead us?" Xander asked, and Phineas grinned at them, showing his many pointed teeth.

"Sure Xander, it would be my honour," he told them, and the three sighed in relief, finally able to relax a little.

1-2-3-4-5

With Phineas leading them, the three quickly made it out of the forest, and spotted Nick, Maddie and Vida attempting to take on Necrolai and the taxi monster, who were knocking them about with little effort.

"We gotta help them," Xander looked to Chip and Ari, who nodded in agreement. They started running down to get down from the cliff to help their friends.

"Thanks Phineas!" Ari called back to the Troblin, who grinned and waved to them. The three morphed, and reached the other three as Vida was helped up by Nick.

"Hey!" Xander called as they reached them, and the other three looked around at them.

"You made it!" Nick was shocked to see the three, but they faced the monster as it roared.

"Let's show this overgrown bat what we're made of," Vida looked to her friends, who nodded. All of them leapt into the air, flipping and landing on higher ground above Necrolai and her monster.

"POWER RANGERS, MYSTIC FORCE!" the monster attacked as they stood together, but they all leapt out of the way. Nick leapt off the cliff and landed easily. He drew his sword and ran at the monster while the others focused on Necrolai. When Nick was floored, Vida joined him, drawing her staff.

"Tornado Power!" Vida transformed into a tornado. She slammed into the monster, battering him before moving aside for Nick to attack.

"Fire Power!" Nick called on his own magic. Flames surrounded his sword, and he swung down, hitting the monster hard.

"That cab's busted!" Vida laughed as the monster exploded. However, a purple spell seal appeared, allowing the taxi monster to regenerate. It began to grow as the others ran over, and it towered over them with a loud laugh.

"Time to go Titan!" Xander yelled as he flipped his morpher open. The other five did the same, and they activated the spell to turn them into their massive Titan forms. With another roar, the monster turned back into its taxi form, and sped towards them. Nick leapt onto the back, and barely held on as it swerved around.

"Guys, a little help? The meter's running!" he called to the others.

"Lame," Ari giggled, but they all got ready to help.

"How about we shoot and score?" Vida changed into her ball form, and the taxi screeched to a stop, throwing Nick off.

"Let's give this guy a flip kick!" the Red Ranger recovered and flipped mid-air. He pushed off the cliff, and kicked the ball straight into the monster. It slammed into the taxi, reverting it back to it's true form. Vida and Nick cheered as Vida returned to normal as well.

"TITAN MEGAZORD FORMATION!" the Rangers activated another spell, and combined to create their Megazord. "Let's do it!" Nick cheered as they summoned their sabre and knocked the monster off his feet. "MYSTIC SPELL SEAL!" the monster had only just pushed itself up, when the powerful attack slammed into him, destroying him instantly. "Yeah! You're toast!" Nick shouted as they celebrated another victory, before noticing Necrolai below, still holding the paper.

"No! The secret of the Fireheart!" Vida yelled. Ari leapt down before anyone else could react, and slammed a couple of energy-balls into Necrolai. While they weren't very powerful, they managed to stun the bat and make her cry out.

"That belongs to us!" Ari grabbed the paper, but Necrolai held fast. They both pulled, before it ripped and both fell back. "Totally meant to do that," the black haired girl gulped as she looked at the torn paper in her hand.

"Hey!" the others ran over to her, and Necrolai let out a snarl.

"Look what you've done! I'll pay you back for this, brat!" Necrolai warned her coldly.

"You are one seriously testy creature of the night," Ari told her, ready to fight her if necessary, but instead Necrolai turned and flew off with a shriek.

"Well, at least we have half of it," Madison shrugged as they looked down at it.

"Yeah, whatever it is," Xander put a hand on Ari's shoulder as she opened it to reveal a strange picture.

1-2-3-4-5

As the Rangers cleared up Rock Porium once again, Xander set down the cardboard cut-out of Jake Bonebreaker and smiled at his friends.

"I'm really sorry everybody," he told the others, who looked up at him in surprise. "I guess part of being a leader, is knowing when to follow," he shrugged. Chip and Ari exchanged amused looks.

"It's not a total loss," Maddie smiled, impressed with his words. "You learned from this Xander," he nodded, and shot a smile at Ari as she rolled her eyes, but she was smiling all the same.

"I'm just glad we're done with that whole thing. I seriously didn't think I'd ever be clean again," she commented as she returned to fixing the CD display.

"You and me both. That spider web really didn't want to come off," Chip laughed.

"I really hope our uniforms self-clean or something. Cause it'd really suck if they don't," Ari grimaced at the thought of returning to her mud covered clothes.

"Hello mates," a voice that they all found startling familiar rang out, and they looked around quickly to see the real Jake Bonebreaker walk into Rock Porium. "My tour bus broke down so I thought I'd kill some time in here while it's getting fixed," he told them as they all stared at him in shock. He then noticed his cardboard self, and grinned widely. "Hey! Handsome fellow isn't he?" he laughed, standing beside it.

"You have got to meet our boss! He is your biggest fan!" Vida told him with a laugh of disbelief.

"Toby! Guess who's here!" Nick shouted, and Toby emerged from his office with a frown. "Jake Bonebreaker!" he indicated to the man, who was a lot more contained than his cut-out brought to life had been. Toby just scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not falling for that again. I've got work to do," Toby told them firmly, gesturing to the phone. He then slammed the door, making them all laugh as Jake looked a bit confused.

* * *

**Thanks to a friend I'm totally obsessed with Bleach again as well. I may have spent any free time that hasn't been spent sleeping wailing about my Vizards. There may be a Bleach fic spawning in the pits of my mind.**

**I'm going to be out most of the weekend for QCon (yay) so I'll attempt to update on Monday, or Tuesday at the latest!**

**Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter!**

**Please review!**


	9. Stranger Within Part 1

**Sorry for the long wait between chapters at the moment, I've been pretty distracted, between convention season being in full swing over here and working loads and there's the slight matter of starting another fic that's distracted me.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Stranger Within Part 1

Walking down the stairs as she pulled on her hoodie, Ari checked her watch and found she still had some time before Nick, Xander and Vida's shift at Rock Porium was up.

"You're going out?" as she walked into the kitchen, Ari's father asked, raising an eyebrow as he peered over his newspaper at her. Blue-eyed with short blond hair, he could not have been more different in appearance to Ari, whose messy black hair, green eyes and darker complexion gave away the fact that she was adopted.

"Staying with friends for the weekend," Ari replied lightly, which wasn't entirely a lie. She and the other Rangers were taking advantage of the long weekend by staying at Rootcore to try and find out the secret of the Fireheart. They wanted to decipher the strange paper that had been ripped in half by Ari and Necrolai in a tug of war, before the bat did.

"I see," her father continued watching her as Ari went into the fridge and pulled out a box of strawberries. "The usual ones, I imagine?" he asked, and Ari nodded without turning around, shoving the box into her bag. "They're all still in school, yes? What have you got planned for when they finish? Aren't they going off to college?" Ari stiffened. She was used to her father wanting to know what she wanted to do with her life. She'd been out of school for over a year, and he wouldn't accept that she was content working in Rock Porium and skateboarding for now.

"Oh, leave her be Bernard," they both looked around as Ari's mother walked in, scolding her husband. Her long dark blonde hair fell down to her ribs, curled and elegant. "She's still young. Just let her enjoy her weekend," Elizabeth told him sternly. Ari's father just sighed and returned to his paper. "After all, she's not getting into trouble, is she?" Ari laughed weakly. She was very glad both had been out the day she had returned covered head to toe in mud from their adventure in the Cimmerian Forest.

"I better go. See you," Ari slung her back over her shoulder, and was pulled into a tight hug by her mother.

"Take care, and stay away from those monster attacks," she told her daughter. Ari nodded, hugging her back and feeling guilty. Not only was she doing the exact opposite, but she was fighting alongside her birth mother. With a quick goodbye to her father, Ari ran out and grabbed her skateboard, heading off to Rock Porium to meet her friends.

1-2-3-4-5

"Hey guys!" Ari called as she walked into the music shop, carrying her board as she looked around.

"Hey Ari. I see you're early for once," Nick commented as he walked past. Ari rolled her eyes and sat on the counter. Vida laughed from behind the counter, flicking through her magazine. "Of course, you're not working, so it's not as surprising," he added.

"Now you're catching on," she laughed, and he grinned at her before walking over to the door. Nick flipped the sign, but as he went to shut the door, Leelee wormed her way in, stopping him.

"Hey!" she protested at him almost shutting it in her face.

"Sorry Leelee, we're closing," Nick told her as the blonde girl strutted in as if she owned the place. Ari rolled her eyes as Leelee glanced at her and looked away as if dismissing her.

"Perfect! That means you have no excuse for not taking me to see this great new DJ tonight!" Leelee smiled at the Red Ranger, who rolled his eyes. He'd made it abundantly clear that he didn't care for the girl, who threw herself at him at every chance.

"No can do. Already have plans," Nick turned her down as he walked past her, and her smile fell as both Ari and Vida giggled.

"Please?" Leelee whined as she lowered the poster in her hands.

"Don't waste your time throwing yourself at him Leelee," Xander walked over and winked at her. "Throw yourself at me," he suggested with a charming smile. Leelee looked mildly disgusted at the thought.

"Would you believe how many dates that's actually gotten him?" Ari whispered to Vida, who laughed in disbelief.

"Ok...you can come with me," Leelee decided as Xander pushed Ari, almost knocking her off the counter. The Green Ranger grinned as the others rolled their eyes.

"He can't go either, he's the one I have plans with," Nick popped out of Toby's office, and Xander's smile immediately fell. Ari laughed, jumping off the counter.

"Bad luck dork. Guess you're stuck with us instead," she elbowed Xander as she walked past.

"Stop calling me that," he grumbled, which only made Ari laugh more as he followed her.

"DJ Fly...never heard of him," Vida took the poster from Leelee and looked at it curiously. "Any good?" she asked the blonde curiously.

"He's just like the hottest new DJ around," Leelee gave a laugh. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of him," she told the Pink Ranger with raised eyebrows.

"I better check this guy out," Vida decided as she looked back down at the poster in her hands.

"Great! You can go with me!" Leelee cheered happily.

"No she can't," Ari called over, leaning against the wall of Toby's office.

"Vida has plans too," Nick spoke as he walked over.

"But there's new talent in town!" Vida exclaimed, looking horrified as Nick ushered Leelee out. "Our plans can wait till tomorrow!" she pleaded with him.

"No, they can't! You gave your word that you'd help V," Nick growled at her as he opened the door, and glared at Vida. The rocker scowled, looking down at the poster. "Thanks for the invite Leelee, some other time. We're closed," the Red Ranger got Leelee out, and shut the door as she stormed off, glaring back at him.

"The leader has spoken," Ari laughed as he locked the door.

"We have half the Fireheart scroll to figure out," Nick turned to face the three as both Xander and Vida looked grumpy. "Chip and Madison are waiting for us at Rootcore, remember?" he reminded them as he grabbed his jacket and headed off to leave through the back.

"Since when did you become Nick, the good witch of Briarwood?" Xander rolled his eyes as he dropped his magazine on the counter and followed.

"Since we have a scroll to figure out and you going on a date with that bimbo would mean we have half a brain less to figure out what it means," Ari told him.

"Alright, that's it," Ari let out a shriek as Xander grabbed her, hoisting her up to carry her under his arm. "I warned you to stop being mean to me sunshine," he told her simply as she struggled to break free, laughing all the while.

"You coming, V?" Nick rolled his eyes and looked over to the Pink Ranger.

"Be there in a few! I got some paperwork to catch up on," she told them, and they nodded, heading out.

"You know she's going to see DJ Fly, right?" Ari asked as she now perched on Xander's back.

"How come she gets to go and I get stuck putting up with you guys all weekend?" Xander whined as Nick let out a frustrated breath.

"She's not. She said she had paperwork to do. Now come on," Nick increased his pace.

"What's the matter? Do you not like us?" Ari grinned as she leaned forwards.

"That's the problem," Xander muttered, and Ari laughed, hanging on as he sped up to catch up with Nick.

1-2-3-4-5

"I give up," Xander announced, cutting through the silence that had fallen over the group of five. They had been working on and off for the entire day and a good bit of the night as well. "Maybe we're not meant to find out the secret of the Fireheart," he sighed heavy as he pushed a book away from him.

"Come on," Nick shook his head and shoved a book into his arms. "Don't give up. Never give up," he told them determinedly as he passed Maddie a book next.

"Wow, Nick. That's inspiring," Maddie smiled as Nick passed Ari and Chip books. Ari yawned, having been woken from a nap by Xander hitting her over the head with a book.

"Yeah, that's what I thought when Udonna yelled it at me this morning when I was ready to quit," Nick admitted, making them laugh. "By the way...where is Udonna?" he noticed that the sorceress was missing.

"And Althea? I haven't seen her around all day either," Ari noticed that her mother wasn't around either.

"Last time I saw Udonna, she was teaching Claire an invisibility spell," Maddie told them. Nick walked over to the Xenotome, attempting to get some answers between it and the book he held.

"That could be the problem right there," Chip spoke up, making them laugh.

"I think Althea's out on another errand. She's been helping the Woodland Village get back on its feet after those Hidiacs attacked," Maddie added as she looked to Ari.

"Leaving us with the hard work. Lame," Ari complained, flicking through the book quickly as she found nothing that would help them solve the mystery of the Fireheart.

"How have you been a Ranger before?" Chip laughed at how lazy Ari could be.

"The first time Sensei Sugiura basically shoved the morpher into my hands before the Celestial Academy was destroyed and I was the only one not put into a bubble and imprisoned on Lothor's ship," Ari answered seriously, looking up at him.

"And the second time?" Xander asked with a smirk, knowing just how it went down. Ari went red.

"It was a shiny rock. Not my fault I fell into a sinkhole and found Doctor O's secret lab with magical Gems that would give me powers..." she muttered as they laughed even more. Hearing someone arrive, they looked up to see Vida breeze in.

"Yo crew, sorry I'm late," she spoke in a bored voice, not sounding very apologetic. She sat down at the table and leaned back in her chair.

"Late? We haven't seen you since yesterday," Nick walked down as they all stared at the Pink Ranger. "That's beyond late. So much for giving us your word," he said as he joined the others.

"Relax," Vida swung in her seat and rolled her eyes. "You're not my dad. So I missed a night of saving the world," she let out a wide yawn as Ari frowned at her. "Good news is, world's still here," she shrugged, apparently not caring in the slightest. She leaned forwards and rested her elbow on the table, propping her head up with a lazy smile.

"Uh, V, it's not just that you missed last night. You missed all day too," Xander raised an eyebrow at her. "It's night-time again," he pointed out.

"I was worried about you," Maddie told her with a hurt look. She had tried to contact her sister, but had only reached her voicemail.

"Look, I'm sorry," Vida sighed and stood up as she looked to the group. "I gave my word and I blew it, it won't happen again," Vida insisted, but Ari had a bad feeling about her. Something was wrong.

"Hey, no problem V," Chip spoke up before anyone else could. "We all make mistakes," he said, and she smiled at him. Not liking it, Ari went to speak, but before she could, Nick let out a cry and put his hands to his head.

"Nick?" everyone looked at him quickly, frowning.

"We gotta go guys. Koragg's back," he told them, hating how the Knight could get into his head.

1-2-3-4-5

Dawn was fast approaching as the Rangers ran through the forest, looking for Koragg and his minions. Slowing to a stop where Nick had been told they would be, they looked around, before Hidiacs swarmed them. They all fell into fighting stances, and Vida smirked.

"Let's Ranger up!" Nick called, only for Vida to step forwards.

"Why bother?" she asked before they could lift their morphers. When they went to question what she meant, Vida ran forwards to meet the Hidiacs. She ran through them, knocking each of the mutants to the ground. She turned and smirked to the others, who stared at her in shock, before continuing to fight off the Hidiacs.

"Why bother?" she asked, and ran at the Hidiacs. With quick, powerful strikes, she made quick word of the Hidiacs who ran at her. The other Rangers stared in shock as Vida flashed a confident smirk at them, before tossing a couple more foot soldiers out of the way.

"Man, look at V go!" Nick stared, his eyes wide.

"This catching up on her sleep thing seems to be paying off for her," Xander was just as shocked as he was.

"Go sis...I've never seen her like this before," Maddie laughed, unable to believe it.

"Neither have I," Chip raised an eyebrow. "It's just weird," he muttered.

"I don't like it..." Ari muttered, still feeling uncomfortable. "She's completely different...it's like Cyber Cam all over again..." she thought back to when Cam's virtual replicant had locked him up and impersonated him for the day. Vida used her magic, turning into a tornado and finishing off the monsters.

The other five ran over to her, with Nick, Xander and Maddie cheering her on. Ari noticed that Chip was quiet as well, looking a little confused.

"Very impressive," before either of them could speak, Koragg appeared. They all fell into fighting stances, ready to fight him. "Now how about a real challenge?" casting a spell, Koragg transformed into his much larger form. The Rangers grabbed their morphers quickly, ready to fight.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" calling on their power, the six transformed into their Titan forms and faced Koragg.

"Welcome to your last fight!" the Knight yelled as he drew his sword and held it up.

"That's what you think!" Nick held up his own sword, but as they went to attack, Koragg moved first.

"Wolf attack," calling on the strange red light within his shield, he blasted the Rangers, with only Chip, Nick and Ari able to avoid it. "Come on!" he yelled as they leapt at him. He easily fought them off with his sword and shield, knocking Ari back up into the air as she launched at him from above. Maddie recovered and went to attack as well, but was hit and thrown back as well.

"You want some of this?" Xander stepped forwards as Maddie hit the ground. He swung his large axe down at the much shorter knight, but Koragg blocked it. He shoved Xander back and hit him across the chest, before taking on Nick as the Red Ranger attempted to go at him again.

"Could use some help V!" Chip called to the much smaller Pink Ranger as Nick was thrown into Ari, knocking the Gold Ranger out of the sky.

"Incoming!" Vida flew through the air in her ball form.

"Little game of catch, Koragg?" Chip caught the ball, and hurled it at Koragg. Surprised by the attack, Koragg barely managed to block it, and the power forced him back.

"I'm not done yet!" Koragg told them as he recovered, growing angry. He cast a spell, calling on his horse. Combining with Catastros, he formed his Megazord. "Now you will feel my real power!" he warned the Rangers as he held his lance, ready for round two.

"Talk is cheap, you don't scare us!" Nick told him as they regrouped.

"Let's show him!"

"Let's do this!"

"Let's go!"

"MYSTIC TITANS, DRAGON FORMATION!" the Rangers went to combine into their Dragon form as the sun rose, but Vida let out a pained scream.

"The sun's so bright!" she cried as she shielded her eyes from it. "I feel all..." she fell to the ground, and rolled over, before returning to her normal size and demorphing. She hit the ground hard, trying to get up and failing.

"You ok sis?" Maddie called down to her sister as they gathered around.

"V!" Chip called down to the weakened Ranger.

"You lose one, and you all quit?!" Koragg snarled, not about to let them take a break. Looking around quickly, Xander blocked the attack from hitting anyone else, and fell to his knees. "Look at pitiful yourselves...you are defenceless," Koragg scoffed, disgusted with the group as Ari moved to Xander's side to ensure he was ok. "I waste my time," he turned and disappeared.

"Guys, we have to help her!" Chip focused on the Pink Ranger as she blacked out.

1-2-3-4-5

While Maddie stayed behind with her unconscious sister at Rootcore, the other Rangers returned to Rock Porium, where they knew they would find Leelee. The blonde looked a little started as the four walked up to her.

"What happened to Vida at the club the other night?" Nick demanded as she looked at him, her eyes wide.

"V's been acting a little strange since then," Chip told her. Leelee let out a laugh.

"She was acting strange _at _the club. She was like, nice to me, even talking to me!" she told them, laughing as they all frowned.

"Leelee, this is important," Xander stopped her, and her smile instantly dropped.

"Alright...I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but I couldn't stay. My mum called and I had to leave," the girl told them as she became serious. "Vida was fine when I left," she shrugged, and they all looked around as Maddie and Vida walked in. "And had a better tan," Leelee spoke, looking horrified. Vida wore a large hoody and big sunglasses in an attempt to block out sunlight.

"Hey V," Xander smiled to the Pink Ranger.

"Hey..." Vida muttered back.

"You feel better?" Ari asked, still a little wary of how weird she was being. A little freaked out, Leelee moved off quickly.

"I guess so. Just a little sensitive to sunlight," Vida shrugged, walking straight past them. When she got close to Ari, however, she recoiled, and moved a little quicker away from the Gold Ranger.

"Well that was weird..." Ari frowned, having noticed her reaction. "Did I do something?" she looked up at Xander, who was rubbing his chest a little, still hurting from the blow he had taken to protect the others. "Are you ok?" Ari frowned at him, and he grinned.

"Of course. You worry too much, little mermaid," he messed up her hair, and she slapped his arm.

"I told you not to call me that," she scowled at him as he laughed.

"And I told you to stop calling me a dork," Xander countered.

"That's different!" Ari protested as she went red.

"How?"

"Cause you _are _a dork!" Maddie was laughing at them while Chip walked off, reading a book he had pulled from his pocket. Nick looked very confused as he surveyed the pair.

"Ari's real name is Ariel," Maddie explained to him quietly as Ari and Xander began arguing playfully. "Everyone used to call her a mermaid in school, it drove her nuts" she told the Red Ranger, and the pair left them to it, getting back to work.

1-2-3-4-5

Still nowhere near actually solving the mystery of the Fireheart, the Rangers spent another day in Rootcore. They read through as many books as they could, but Vida had gone to get some sleep and Chip had been acting strange since Vida had shown up in Rock Porium.

"Good morning Rootcore," Vida arrived with a smile, still pale but more active than she had been before.

"Morning? Now I _know _I didn't go for a nap," Ari frowned, looking outside. It was dark out, and had only been so for about 3 hours.

"Hey sis, you're feeling better!" Maddie looked down at her sister with a relieved smile.

"I'm feeling great! I slept like a baby," Vida told her with a grin.. "Let's rock and roll!" she cheered loudly.

"You slept like a log," Nick told her as Maddie laughed, grabbing her camera. "22 hours worth," he shook his head and looked down at the book in front of him.

"Hey V, say a few words to your fans," Maddie called to the Pink Ranger as she turned on the camera and pointed it at her. Ari watched curiously, still not convinced that Vida was ok.

"Alright, I'll show you a new pose that came to me in a dream," she smirked at the camera and held up her fingers in a V shape by her eye. She laughed, leaning against the table as Chip approached her.

"After such a long nap you must be very thirsty V," he handed her a goblet, which she grabbed and took a gulp from. When she spat it out, making a disgusted noise, everyone else looked up quickly.

"It's tomato juice!" Vida yelled at the Yellow Ranger, who smirked back.

"Aw what, did you think it was blood?!" Chip 's accusation took everyone by surprise.

"Pardon me?" Xander stared at the Yellow Ranger as Vida stared at him with wide eyes.

"I am a card carrying member of Count V," Chip held up an ID as Vida grimaced, the taste of tomato juice still in her mouth. When Chip was met with four blank stares, he sighed. "Containment of Underworld Nocturnal Transylvanian Vampires Club! And I, my friends, have found myself a vampire," he declared, looking back at Vida.

"My sister is a vampire?" Maddie summed up with a raised eyebrow.

"Ari, come here a second," the Gold Ranger frowned at Chip's request, but obliged him with a shrug. She walked down to the red haired young man, who then pushed her towards Vida. The accused girl flinched away as Ari got close, and she was unable to look at her. "Pale skin, sleeping _all _day? She has a thirst for _blood_? She's sensitive to the sun, I mean she can't even _look _at Ari!" he gestured to Ari as she frowned at Vida's reaction. "Textbook Vampire signs!" he held up a book that was tilted 'How To Spot A Vampire' as Vida laughed a little.

After a moment of silence, in which Vida looked to Chip with a careful expression, Xander, Nick and Maddie burst out laughing. Ari tilted her head as Vida laughed as well. While the idea that she was a Vampire seemed ridiculous to her, she knew that something was definitely off with her.

"Come on guys, we're late for work," Nick managed to calm his laughing a little more than Xander and Maddie as Chip looked up at them, his smile dropping.

"I'll meet with you guys later," Vida grinned to the others, and looked to Chip. "I gotta grab a _bite _before I go!" she winked at Chip, who jumped, despite Ari still standing between them. The other three laughed, and Ari sighed.

"Ok...maybe I'm wrong..." Chip mumbled, looking down at his book. "I'll stay here and go in with V..." he told the others.

"Come on Ari, let's go," Xander called to the Sun Witch, who frowned but nodded. As she went to walk over to them, Ari paused and moved closer to Chip to whisper in his ear.

"There's definitely something weird going on with Vida. Keep looking, you'll figure it out," she told him quietly, before walking off to catch up with the others without looking around. She grabbed her backpack on the way out and hurried to catch up with the other three, hoping Chip would figure it out.

1-2-3-4-5

"They're still not here?" Nick frowned as he emerged from the office and found that Chip and Vida still hadn't appeared for work. "Toby's gonna have a fit," he said. The other three shrugged, looking concerned as well.

"Chip was pretty convinced that V's been turned into a vampire," Xander commented as they stood together. "Maybe he's stopping her from leaving?" he suggested.

"In the years we've known Vida, when has she ever let anyone stop her from doing what she wanted without a legit reason?" Ari frowned at him, and the three turned to her. She blinked as they looked at her suspiciously. "What?"

"You said something to him before we left. What was it?" Maddie asked.

"I told him not to give up. There's something weird going on with Vida," Ari shrugged. None of them spoke, unable to argue with that.

"But she can't be a..." Nick trailed off, finding it too ridiculous.

"I'm not saying she is," Ari raised her hands in defence. "Even I find that a bit too weird to believe. I can understand why Chip thinks it, considering how she's reacting in sunlight," she muttered, folding her arms.

"Why is she reacting that way around you though?" Xander asked.

"I have sun magic. I guess it's something to do with that," Ari pointed out.

"Althea did say that we did put out magic naturally," Maddie remembered what the Lunar Knight had told them.

"Come on, we better finish up here and get back to Rootcore," Nick told them, worried about the pair.

1-2-3-4-5

"V!" as soon as they had finished their shift, the four worried Rangers returned to Rootcore to see if Chip and Vida were still there. They hadn't shown up at all in work, and they weren't answering their morphers.

"Chip?" Xander called as they looked around Rootcore, but it was lacking the other two Rangers.

"Guys?"

"You're out here awfully late," Udonna commented as she and Althea walked into the main chamber. "What is going on?" she asked.

"You miss us?" Althea smiled as she adjusted her glasses. The action reminded Ari of Zoe, the Moon Ninja who had fought alongside the Ninja Storm Rangers.

"Chip and V didn't show for work," Nick explained as they walked over. "We think there may be a problem," he said, and the pair frowned.

"They seemed alright when the last time you saw them?" Udonna asked.

"Not exactly," Xander couldn't hide his grin.

"Vida's been acting really weird the last couple of days," Ari explained as she pushed her hair from her face. "And Chip's convinced that she's become a Vampire," the others giggled, but neither Udonna nor Althea reacted the way they expected.

"Really? Vampires are where you lot draw the line?" Althea raised an eyebrow at them.

"There are many things in the woods that seem unbelievable, but I assure you, they do exist," Udonna told them, and their laughter instantly died.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Maddie realised. "I filmed Vida earlier today," she cast a spell on her camera, and the video showed up on the screen.

"_V, say a few words to your fans_."

"_Alright. I'll show you a new pose that came to me in a dream_," they found that while Vida spoke, there was nobody on camera. They watched as Chip held out the goblet of tomato juice.

"Ok, that's weird. She was dead centre frame when I took this and now..." Maddie trailed off, shaking her head.

"Her imagine will not appear on video," Udonna told them from the back.

"Or in a mirror," Althea added with a frown. "Chip was right to be worried. Vida has become a Vampire," the Rangers were silent as they processed this.

"Find them Rangers, they need your help," Udonna told them.

"Let's go," Nick told them, putting a hand on Maddie's shoulder for a moment as she looked stunned. They ran off to help, and Udonna exchanged looks with Althea.

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Finding where a monster was attacking in Briarwood, the four spotted Chip and Vida facing him down. They were already morphed, and ready to fight.

"V!" Maddie called as they reached the two, who looked around quickly. "Are you alright?" she asked her, and Vida nodded, grinning under her helmet.

"Never better!" she cheered, and posed.

"Good! Let's swat this fly!" Nick told them.

"Strong as a tree! Green Mystic Ranger!"

"Ever changing as the wind! Pink Mystic Ranger!"

"Fluid as the sea! Blue Mystic Ranger!"

"Fast as lightning! Yellow Mystic Ranger!"

"Bright as the Sun! Gold Mystic Ranger!"

"Forceful as fire! Red Mystic Ranger!"

"Courage is our magic!"

"And your downfall!" Vida told Flytrap confidently.

"No problem!" Flytrap wasn't intimidated by their words. He shot several vines at the Rangers, wrapping around them and stopping them from moving as the teenagers nearby hissed, ready to attack as well.

"Let me try some magic!" Vida called to the others. She focused, and seemed to disappear in a flash of pink lights. The vines that had restrained her dropped to the ground, and the tiny Pink Ranger flew through the air. "Magi Staff!" returning to her normal size,Vida swung her Staff down hard and freed the others.

"No!" Flytrap cried out, falling backwards as his vines smoked from the attack.

"Magi Staff, crossbow mode!" Chip called on his own Staff and changed it into a crossbow. "Fire!" he blasted the monster with his yellow magic, making him fall back.

"Nice one Chip!" Vida cheered on her friend, still holding her Staff. They all leapt through the air and surrounded Flytrap, who cried out in surprise as he looked from one to the other. "Tornado time!" the all began spinning, throwing Flytrap through the air. He crashed to the ground, and growled angrily.

"Shut your traps!" he yelled, before starting to grow.

"Let's even this out," Chip called. They all drew their morphers and called on their Titan forms, before combining to make their Megazord.

"Let's get him!" Maddie cheered, glancing to Vida quickly. "You alright sis?" she checked. The Pink Ranger nodded, smiling back.

"Never been better!" she told her,, striking her pose again.

"Liking the new pose V! Titan sabre!" Chip grinned.

"TITAN SABRE!" the others followed suit, and they summoned their sword.

"Try and stop these!" Flytrap tried his vine attack again, but with a quick slash, the Rangers called on smaller swords that cut through the vines and struck the monster several times. When Ari felt her powers suddenly start to grow stronger, she let out a gasp.

"The sun!" she yelled, just as the pained cries of those infected by Flytrap cried out below. The Rangers yelled out in horror as they realised that their deadline was approaching quickly.

"We have to break the spell, fast!" Chip told them quickly.

"Ready!" Nick looked to the others. They held out their Staffs, and put a hand over their consoles.

"Ancient Power! Mystic Spell Seal!"

"Attack!" Flytrap rushed at them, attempting to attack before their Spell Seal was ready, but they were faster. With a powerful slash of their sabre, the Rangers slammed him with the Spell Seal.

"You're planted!" the monster staggered as red lights shot from his body, before he exploded, destroyed. The sun came up, and the Rangers watched from a higher level as the teens who had been infected stopped yelling, and walked off as if nothing had happened.

"Chip saved the day, I got my sister back, and Briarwood's teens are back to normal," Maddie summed up as they turned away, cheering and leaving.

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Music filled Rock Porium as Vida jumped down from her decks and danced with Leelee, who laughed at how much more energetic the Pink Ranger now was. Relieved that Vida was ok, the others were relaxed and, as usual, not actually doing any work.

"Hey Ari, come dance!" Vida called to the girl watching from the counter as she made her way through another box of strawberries.

"The day that happens is the day I see Xander pass a mirror without checking himself out," Ari smirked.

"Hey!" Xander protested, from behind her.

"Has it happened yet?" Ari countered as she looked around, and the Green Ranger blushed as he glared half-heartedly at her. Ari just winked at him and continued eating her strawberries. She watched as Chip suddenly crouched down on the ground and began drawing with chalk. "Hey Chip, _you're _the one who's gonna be cleaning that up!" she warned.

"He's showing us how _Vampire chalk _works," Nick called over with a mocking grin. Ari just laughed, used to Chip's crazy behaviour.

"Sorry, these are $300 boots!" Leelee snapped at the Yellow Ranger as she jumped away from him. "Draw your chalk near someone else's feet," she told him with a growl. Vida laughed as Ari rolled her eyes. Nick and Maddie were giggling as Chip got back to his feet and Vida continued dancing. The phone rang, and Xander turned to get it as Ari continued watching the girl.

"Hey V!" Xander leaned on the counter beside Ari as he looked over to the Pink Ranger. "We got any Coltrane on CD?" he called over to her as she stopped dancing.

"Lemme check!" Vida told him, but as she made to step over the circle that Chip had drawn around her, a forcefield shot up. She cried out in pain and stepped back, her eyes wide. Xander hung up as he and Ari exchanged shocked looks, and they ran over as Vida attempted to get out again, only to cry out in pain when she slammed straight into it.

"Uh..V...? Are you alright?" Chip asked carefully as all trace of laughter was gone. She looked up and hissed at them, her eyes glowing red as she bared her fangs at them.

* * *

**I will be updating either tomorrow night or on Thursday at some point, as I will be in Dublin from Thursday until Monday for Arcadecon (excited squeals)**

**Hope you liked it!**

**Please review!**


	10. Stranger Within Part 2

**As promised, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Stranger Within Part 2

Vida looked up at her friends with wide eyes filled with fear as she stood in Rootcore. A chalk circle surrounded her, preventing her from escaping. Her eyes and teeth had returned to normal, but her skin had turned deathly pale again in exchange.

"Guys, I know you think you need to do this...but I'm alright," Vida pleaded with her friends as they watched her with worried expressions. "Please, let me out," her voice quivered.

"We're gonna help you V, I promise," Chip told her, not responding to her request.

"Maybe, we should let her out," Claire, who had been keeping her distance after seeing Vida snarling at Ari for getting too close, suggested softly. When she moved closer, Vida lunged at her and slammed into the forcefield with a loud snarl. They all jumped backwards, alarmed. "And...maybe we shouldn't," Claire yelped as she hid behind Udonna.

"If Flytrap was destroyed...Vida should be fine," Maddie walked away, unable to watch her sister beg to be freed.. "She must be under the spell of another Vampire," she voiced what they had all realised.

"Well there is another Vampire lurking around Briarwood, is there not?" Althea's question made them all look around at the Knight.

"You mean Necrolai?" Chip asked her curiously.

"Well it could be," Althea shrugged from beside Udonna.

"Koragg would know if it was," Xander nodded.

"Nick. Koragg seems to be able to contact you whenever he likes," Chip glanced to Nick, who frowned. He didn't like where this was going. "Have you ever tried to contact him?" the red-head asked him seriously.

"No," Nick frowned, but sighed. "I can try," he put his fingers to his temples and turned away, closing his eyes and focusing. After a moment, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "I guess it doesn't work like-" Nick stopped abruptly, before letting out a cry as the piercing pain that came with Koragg contacting him shot through his head. "Next time Chip...you can call him yourself," Nick muttered, breathing heavily. "He's in the glen," he told the Rangers.

"Will you go after Koragg?" Udonna asked them, making the group look around at her. "There's something I need to do," Udonna hurried off, looking deep in thought.

"I'll go with you," Althea decided as she walked over. "It's been a while since I helped out, and Koragg is a powerful enemy," she told them, resting a hand on her hip.

"Who's gonna stay with V?" Maddie frowned as she gestured to her sister.

"I will!" Claire volunteered with a smile.

"Claire, she'll try everything and anything to get you to release her," Xander turned to her as he warned her gently. Her smile dropped as she looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you sure you're up for it?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"Don't worry, I am a _lot _smarter than I look," she assured him, before pausing. "Or...never mind. I'll be fine, I promise," she smiled brightly at them. The Rangers then turned to meet Koragg, and paused.

"Where's Chip?" Nick sighed, knowing exactly where the Yellow Ranger was.

"Oh no..." Ari groaned, putting a hand to her face.

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The Rangers arrived in the Glen just in time to see Koragg send Chip flying with a well placed Wolf Attack. The Yellow Ranger rolled along the ground, kicking up the fallen leaves, and the others ran over to him.

"Chip!" Nick reached him first, and stood in front of his fallen friend, ready to fight Koragg.

"Are you ok?" Maddie and Ari helped him into a sitting position as he groaned.

"If you are looking for the one who turned the Pink Witch into a Vampire, look no further than Necrolai," Koragg told them as he stood facing them. "If you want the Pink Witch back, defeat Necrolai," he told them, and turned, walking away.

"Why tell us this?" Althea demanded as she held her whip at the ready. Koragg stopped, but didn't look back.

"If you are strong enough to defeat Necrolai and get the Pink one back, then, and _only _then, have you earned the right to fight me," he finally glanced over his shoulder at them. Ari felt herself bristle at his words. He disappeared through a spell seal before she could speak, and they all stood together.

"We'll play your game..." Nick muttered.

"What a waste..." Althea muttered as she returned her weapon to her side.

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None of the Rangers spoke as they returned to Rootcore, and Althea went off to locate Udonna.

"Oh no, look," Maddie was the first to spot Claire standing in the circle, looking very sorry for herself.

"I knew it!" Xander sighed as they ran over. Claire shuffled her feet sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry...but she got really sick, and then she fainted, so I-"

"No need to explain Claire," Nick told her with a heavy sigh. All exhausted and frustrated, none of them spoke much.

"I just thought that what if something really bad happens? I would never forgive myself. So I just erased a little bit of the circle and...she got out," Claire told them, her eyes large and sad.

"Well...at least she didn't bite you," Chip smiled reassuringly at her, before pausing. "She didn't bite you, did she?" he asked as fear crept into his voice.

"Well...no..." Claire showed them her neck, which was free of bite marks. "But she put me in the circle...please let me out, you need to find them," she asked them pleadingly. With a shrug, Xander removed some of the circle with his foot, allowing Claire to escape the trap. "Thanks, uh...I better find Udonna," she hurried off, and they sighed.

"I still say that anyone with half a brain wouldn't have been tricked," Xander shook his head as she disappeared. Ari looked down at the circle, frowning as her brain told her that she was missing something, something _very _important.

"Guys...we're missing something here," she chewed her thumbnail as she thought hard about it.

"Missing what?" Xander looked down at the girl standing beside him with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, hi guys, I didn't hear you come in," hearing Claire's bright voice, they all spun around quickly and stared at the apprentice as she appeared from a completely different direction. "Gosh, that Vida is a tricky one! She tried to convince me she got sick, but I-" Claire froze, her smile dropping. "Hey, where did Vida go?" she asked, frowning at them.

"The chalk," Ari finally realised what she was missing. "If it had actually been Claire, she wouldn't have gotten stuck," she put a hand to her face, berating herself for being so stupid.

"What was that half-brained theory of yours again?" Maddie looked at Xander with a frown, and he groaned.

1-2-3-4-5

"What if we find Necrolai before Vida?" Maddie wondered as they stood around the table, unsure of what to do now. Althea had disappeared off to help Udonna with whatever it was the Snow Witch was doing. "How do we destroy her? The Flytrap was one thing..." she trailed off nervously. They all looked worried. Necrolai was powerful and had always dominated in the rare occasions that she had actually fought them.

"Chip's book!" Xander spoke up as an idea came to mind. "It's gotta have a chapter on destroying vampires," he gestured to the book, and Maddie leaned on the table as everyone looked at Chip hopefully.

"Chapter 13," he shrugged, having memorised the book long ago. "Basically it's the old 'stake in heart' scenario, unless we're dealing with the queen of the vampires..." Chip trailed off.

"And what does it say about destroying them?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Chip hesitated, before shrugging.

"It says you can't," he told them, and they all sagged at the thought.

"That's encouraging..." Xander grumbled as he leaned on the chair.

"Hey, what was it that Nick told us the other night?" Ari folded her arms as she looked at the dejected group. "Don't give up. _Never _give up. Just because a book tells us it can't be done, doesn't mean anything," she told them with determination. "Our friend is in danger. We'll think of something. We always do," Ari insisted.

"Wow Ari..." Maddie smiled at the Gold Ranger, who went red at her outburst.

"This is why we keep you around," Xander teased, messing up her hair.

"I've not done anything..." she mumbled, swatting him away as she pushed her hair out of her face, still blushing furiously. Xander laughed at her, before pausing.

"Wait a second, the Xenotome!" he looked around at the others. "That tells us everything, what we need to know, when we need to know it. We need to know it now," they all nodded, and ran over to the large, mostly blank book. They gathered around, and Chip put his hands on it gently.

"Xenotome, how do we destroy the Queen of the Vampires?" he asked the book slowly. Almost instantly, the writing of the Ancients appeared in a flash of light, with a picture of a strange diamond shape. "Dawn Crystal...that must be the only way to defeat Necrolai..." Chip read it quickly. "It says how to make one...but it takes time, and ingredients I don't know if we can get," Chip's hope seemed to fade as he looked at the others.

"You can't, but we did," Udonna and Althea hurried in. Udonna was carrying a basket of ingredients, and Althea was covered in dirt. "We must hurry, there's not much time. We must make the Crystal before..." Udonna trailed off as she set down the basket.

"Before what?" Maddie repeated as tears began to fill her eyes. "Before it's too late, is that what you were going to say?" she demanded, and both Althea and Udonna looked around with worried expressions.

"Make no mistake rangers, we are in danger of losing one of our own," Udonna told them gently. Maddie's breath hitched in her throat as her tears threatened to spill over. Chip, Xander and Ari were silent, all of them worried about losing their friend. Nick took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"That's not going to happen," Nick promised the Blue Ranger in a soft voice. When Maddie looked at him, her tears starting to roll down her cheeks, Nick released her hand and walked over to the two older Mystics."Udonna. You make the Dawn Crystal, we'll find Vida," he told the red-haired woman, who nodded.

"No!" Chip spoke up suddenly, and Nick looked around, surprised that Chip was challenging his decision. "I'm staying to make the Dawn Crystal. I owe Vida that much," he told them softly.

"I'll search too," Althea volunteered herself. "I've never been great with potions, and the Dawn Crystal is incredibly difficult to make," she added with a shrug.

"We could always use the extra eyes," Ari told her with a grateful smile, and Althea smiled at her daughter. Despite her initial hesitation, Ari was slowly becoming more relaxed around her.

1-2-3-4-5

"Vida!"

"V!"

"Sis! Where is she?" Flying through the forest and back towards Briarwood, the four remaining teenagers looked around for any sign of Vida. The sun was beginning to rise, which worried them. She had still been sensitive around Ari, which meant the sun was dangerous to her still. Althea, morphed into her silver suit, flew up on a broomstick that she was standing on.

"No luck in the villages near Rootcore," she shook her head as they looked to her.

"She has to be somewhere! I'm not giving up!" Maddie yelled at them.

"No-one is Maddie, no-one is!" Nick insisted as he flew beside her, trying to comfort the worried Blue Ranger. They all continued to call out for the Pink Ranger as they reached Briarwood, and began to search their city for her.

1-2-3-4-5

Still unable to find Vida after the sun rose, Nick, Maddie, Xander and Ari went to Rock Porium, while Althea continued to circle the city for any sign of her,

"Maybe she left town...maybe she was taken, maybe she-"

"We'll find her Maddie," Nick interrupted Maddie as she leaned on the counter, tears still rolling down her face. He put his arm around her shoulders to try and comfort her. Maddie looked up at him as she sniffed, and he gave a small smile. "I promise," he told her, before they heard Toby's office door swing open.

"Find who?" Vida grinned as she walked out, grinning widely at them.

"Vida!" Maddie cried, and ran over to her sister, nearly knocking the laughing Pink Ranger to the ground. Unable to believe it, Nick, Xander and Ari walked over, their eyes wide.

"Sis, I'm fine," Vida managed to pull away from her sister. "Calm down, I'm fine. I had quite a night," she smiled to the other three. "But I'm ok," Vida smiled, and with a tearful laugh, Maddie pulled her into another choking hug.

1-2-3-4-5

The Rangers returned to Rootcore, just in time to see Chip passing the Dawn Crystal to Udonna.

"You won't be needing it," Nick grinned, earning their attention as the group walking in, with Vida leading the way.

"V!" Chip ran down and lifted her off the ground in a hug. "Are you alright?" he asked the laughing girl as he set her down.

"Is she alright?" Nick repeated with a grin, sitting on the table. "She defeated Necrolai all by herself," he told the surprised Yellow Ranger. Udonna looked over with a small frown, and Althea shrugged, walking over to her.

"Why didn't you call? We all wanted to help," Chip looked down at her, still smiling in disbelief.

"I know," Vida shrugged. "But it was my problem. You know me," she told him with a smile.

"Defeating Necrolai by yourself. That must have been quite a battle," Udonna spoke up, holding the Dawn Crystal carefully. Althea was chewing on her thumbnail, still looking a little cautious.

"We were a little suspicious before, but she walked all the way home in broad daylight," Xander shrugged. "And hey," he pushed Ari towards Vida, who just laughed. "She can stand Ari again," he grinned.

"You could phrase that a little better," Ari slapped his arm as the others laughed.

"Hail Vida! Vampire slayer!" Chip cheered, striking her V pose. Vida's smile dropped as she looked a little confused. Chip's own grin faded and he dropped his hand, instantly sensing that something was off with the girl.

"Vampire slayer, and gift giver," she held out the bag that she had been carrying, and held out an apple. "I picked you all a little something," she passed out the apples, and as Ari took one, she glanced up at Althea, and found her still looking a little wary. Ari recognised her chewing her thumbnail as something that she herself did when something was bothering her, and as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Ari's own wariness kicked in.

"To the Rangers!" Vida cheered as she held one up herself.

"To the Rangers!" Nick, Xander and Maddie echoed, before going to bite into them.

"Wait! Something's wrong," Chip spoke up before they could. "She couldn't have picked these apples, they're not grown in Briarwood," he pointed out.

"Picked? I meant picked up at the store," Vida told him with a smile, but Ari was hesitating as well now, alarm bells going off in her head. Both Althea and Udonna didn't look convinced either.

"What about the pose?" Chip asked, repeating it. "You didn't even recognise it," he pointed out.

"I recognised it," Vida told him with a shrug. "I've just moved on from it. You know me, I never stick with anything for very long," she told them, and while this was true and seemed to appease some of them, it still didn't let Chip relax. "Now I'm going to get a complex if none of you eat my gifts," she warned, before biting into the one in her hand.

"No!" Chip yelled, smacking them out of his friends' hands as they went to eat them. "I'm telling you, this is not Vida!" he shouted at them when they looked surprised.

"Chip! Now you've gone and ruined perfectly good apples!" Maddie scolded him, bending down to pick them up. However, before she could, they started to smoke, and melted into a terrible smelling goop.

"Talk about your rotten apples!" Xander stared down at it, and as Ari went to drop her own in disgust, a hand clamped over her mouth, and she was yanked backwards.

"She's gone!" Nick realised when he looked up to see that Vida had disappeared.

"Ari?" Xander noticed that the Gold Ranger was missing as well. "She took Ari," he realised, looking to the others with wide eyes.

"And we're going after her," Althea's expression was dark as she made the apple in her hand disappear.

1-2-3-4-5

"Lemme go!" Ari thrashed around as Vida carried her over her shoulder easily, sprinting through Briarwood. "Stupid Vampire strength!" she yelled, but Vida didn't respond. Ari continued fighting, but at the angle she was at and the speed Vida was running at, not even her Dino Powers could help.

After a few minutes of running, Ari found herself falling, and she hit the ground hard. She rolled onto her back, and glared up at Vida. "Did you just throw me? Because even Hunter was nicer than that and he tried to kill me straight after," she told the Pink Ranger, who didn't respond, just looking straight ahead.

"What a coincidence!" Ari's eyes widened and she looked up at Necrolai as the bat landed in front of Vida. "Because I plan on doing exactly that too," she laughed as Ari scrambled into a sitting position.

"Hag, do you have any idea just how many have actually attempted that?" Ari tried to look casual. "Because I don't. I lost track after around the first time that my school principal tried to kill me," she shrugged.

"All you need to know, child, is that I will be the last," Necrolai lunged for her, but Ari slammed an energy-ball into her face and rolled out of the way.

"Still you losers call me a kid. No wonder my number of wins grows. You're constantly underestimating me," Ari smirked as she got to her feet, but as she went to morph, Vida grabbed her arms and restrained her. "Vida no! Please, snap out of it!" Ari pleaded as Necrolai recovered and stalked towards her.

"You know why I had my pet take you?" she asked as Ari looked up at her, still struggling uselessly. "She told me all about you. Your history as a Ranger, your ability to encourage the others to keep going, your magical heritage, everything," Necrolai laughed as Ari looked around at the expressionless girl behind her. "But mostly, because you and your whole sun magic, really irritate me. I told you that you'd regret crossing me, girl," the Vampire chuckled as she stood close to Ari, who glared at her, refusing to show any of the fear that she was currently feeling.

"I regretted crossing your path the moment I met you, hag. But you're still not going to win," Ari told her firmly. "Good doesn't fail, and darkness never wins," she spoke confidently.

"Not this time," Necrolai told her, and raised a hand to strike her, only for Althea's whip to hit her in the face. Necrolai screeched and staggered back, and in one quick move, Vida had been knocked aside and Ari pulled away from her.

"You know, I'm not a rag-doll," Ari complained as she looked up at Xander, who had his hands on her shoulders as he watched Vida carefully.

"That's the thanks I get for saving your sorry ass?" he asked, looking down at her with a grin. Ari smiled back.

"Thanks Xander," she told him, before mischief sparked in her eyes. "We're almost even," she teased, and he sighed.

"Are you ok?" Althea asked as Ari stepped away from the Green Ranger, ready to fight.

"Other than thinking back to one of the last times I was kidnapped, I'm perfectly fine," Ari grinned to her, but it wasn't entirely genuine. Due to the use of the Gem of Souls, a good bit of the adventure in the Cavern of Souls was blurry to her, and being carried off again had forced the unpleasant memory back to the surface. Althea didn't look entirely convinced, and neither did Xander, but they didn't have a choice but to accept it as Necrolai recovered and put a hand on Vida's head.

"Get them!" she ordered, and Vida smirked.

"Yes mistress," she obliged, and morphed into her Ranger suit. She slowly approached the others, who were hesitant to fight one of their own.

"No! Vida!" Maddie cried out to her sister. Vida just ignored her, and drew her Staff, sprinting at them.

"Don't hurt her. I'm going after Necrolai," Chip spoke as Vida approached. They nodded, and he ran towards Vida, before morphing and leaping over her head. She looked around quickly and made to follow him, only for the others to grab her and try to restrain her. However, with not only her enhanced strength from her Ranger suit, but also from her Vampire powers, she easily threw them all off and to the ground.

"We're getting really hurt taking it easy on her," Nick groaned.

"Always the way," Ari sighed, and instantly put up a large shield as Vida attacked them. It absorbed most of the attack, but part of it still managed to break through, and sent the five flying over the railings. They morphed to save themselves from the damage, and rolled along the ground before getting up.

"Getting her Magi Staff off her will help," Althea spoke up as she grabbed her whip.

"Just be careful. We can't hurt her," Ari pleaded as she looked to her mother. Althea hesitated, before Vida leapt down and ran at them. She jumped into the air and floored Xander and Maddie with powerful kicks.

"Stop!" Nick pleaded as he grabbed her Staff and fought with her. "It's us, Vida!" he attempted to get through to her, but she just knocked him aside as well. She then turned to Ari and Althea, but Ari put up another shield.

"Please, listen to us V!" Ari cried out to her as Vida hit the shield repeatedly, not bothered by the ricochet caused. "We've been friends since we were five Vida, you'd never hurt any of us! Snap out of it!" she yelled, but instead of heeding her words, Vida shattered her shield and ran at the pair. Althea knocked her Magi Staff out of her hand with her whip, but Vida kicked Ari out of the way as she went to grab her, and Nick grabbed her from behind. She threw him off and grabbed her Magi Staff again, knocking them all back to the ground. She then leapt back up above, leaving them to try and get up.

"I'll hand it to her, Vida sure packs a punch," Althea grumbled as she got to her feet.

"We have to stop her, Chip won't be able to fight both her and Necrolai at once," Nick pushed himself back up as well.

"Especially if it's Vida..." Ari mumbled. They hurried to the higher level, and reached the battle just in time to see Chip powering up the Dawn Crystal and pointing it at Vida, who stood between him and Necrolai.

"You can't! It's Vida!" Xander yelled as they ran towards him.

"Don't do it Chip!" Maddie cried out in horror at the sight.

"Put it down, now!"

"I believe in you V...FIRE!" ignoring their pleas, Chip fired his crossbow. The yellow light flew towards Vida, only for the Pink Ranger to dive aside at the last second, allowing the Dawn Crystal to slam into Necrolai. "V is for victory!" the Yellow Ranger cheered, and pulled Vida's pose. "Vida showed me her sign. Even though she said she wasn't with us any more, I knew she was," he explained with a grin under his helmet. The others ran over to him, standing with the Lightning Wizard.

"Very clever," Althea nodded with a smile, amazed that Chip had managed to break the spell on Vida.

"You tricked me, Pink Witch!" Necrolai realised, and looked to Vida. She snapped her fingers, and Vida screamed in pain as electric pulses shot through her body and forced her to demorph. On her knees, she looked over to her friends.

"You have to stop her!" she cried out to them.

"You got it! Do it for V guys!" Chip called, and they drew their Magi Staffs, holding them out in front of them, before raising them into the air together. Althea stepped aside, watching them control their magic.

"MAGI STAFFS, FULL POWER!" the staffs began to spin, and as Chip held the spinning power in his hand, the others crouched down out of the way.

"Bite this Necrolai!" Chip yelled, and hurled it at Necrolai. She screamed, as blinding light surrounded her.

"This can't be happening..." Necrolai screamed again, and exploded. Their Staffs returned to them, and Althea watched as they ran over to Vida. She couldn't believe how much their power had already grown. To defeat the Queen of the Vampires was nothing to look down on. As they helped Vida up, she smiled at them, already looking much healthier, but as they celebrated their victory, the ground began to shake.

"You six wizards have shown great power and cunning to defeat Necrolai," Koragg stood above them as he spoke. His sword and shield were in his hand, and he was ready to fight. "This is what I have waited for," the Knight announced, and called on Catastros to form his Megazord.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" Vida morphed again, already back to full strength. Althea stepped back, knowing what was coming. This was their fight, and she knew that their strength when together was much greater than anything she had to offer. The Rangers called on their Titan forms and combined to make their Megazord as Althea watched.

"Let's show him!" Nick called to his friends as they drew their sabre and got ready for a fierce fight.

"ANCIENT POWER, MYSTIC SPELL SEAL!" they called on their powerful attack straight away, just as Koragg did the same. The two spell seals clashed, and exploded, throwing the Rangers backwards.

"He's stronger than we are!" Maddie cried out as they were thrown about the cockpit. "Guys, what are we going to do?" she asked, looking to her friends.

"I say we fight back, we don't give up!" Chip called, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Chip's right! Don't give up!" Vida agreed as she held up her staff. "We never give up!" she yelled, refusing to stop fighting now.

"Now didn't I say that earlier?" Ari laughed.

"Count me in!"

"One for all!" Nick called.

"And all for one!" Chip moved to the front, before a bright light appeared, shining down on them. They all held up their staffs, which began to glow as well. "What's going on?" Chip asked as the light faded as quickly as it appeared.

"Your belief in me has given us a new spell!" Vida realised as she looked to him.

"Nice!" he laughed back.

"Battle me!" Koragg roared, growing impatient with them.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" they held their hands over their consoles and allowed their magic to flow. The wings of their Megazord shot out, taking Koragg by surprise.

"You have new magic?!" he realised in shock.

"TITAN MEGAZORD, TAKE FLIGHT!" the Megazord flew into the air quickly, passing through a spell seal before slowing and hovering in the air. "SPIRITS OF THE ANCIENT TITANS! TITANS ATTACK!" they hurled back down towards the ground, and with one powerful slash, they took down Koragg. As they landed, the Rangers cheered, unable to believe their victory. However, it was short-lived as Koragg burst out of the rubble and slowly got to his feet. While he was badly injured, he was still alive.

"Impressive. You grow more powerful by the day," Koragg told them as he stood up straight. "But so do I! Our next battle will have a different outcome!" he warned them, and disappeared through his spell seal.

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"Alright, spill," Ari jumped as Xander leaned on the counter beside her. "Something about what happened with Vida freaked you out," he accused.

"I need to stop hanging out with ridiculously perceptive people. It really sucks," she muttered irritably.

"Ari," when he frowned at her, Ari sighed.

"I don't remember a whole lot of when Hunter and Blake kidnapped me," she admitted in a quiet voice, aware that there were customers wandering around. "A lot of it is blurry, but what's clear to me, is trying to escape, and almost dying in the Cavern of Lost Souls..." Xander was very quiet as she told him this. "It's just the way she grabbed me. It brought back more of it..." Ari looked even more irritated as she spoke.

"You know, it's ok to admit that you're scared once in a while," he told her gently, and Ari didn't speak.

"You gotta know, Hunter and Blake were tricked," she spoke after a moment, looking at Xander with an almost sad expression. "They lost their parents when they were little. Lothor told them it was Sensei who killed them, and that by using my powers, they could get their revenge. Lothor told them I'd survive the process," she explained carefully.

"Do you do that a lot?" Xander asked. Ari frowned at him, not understanding. "Defend people when they hurt you?" Ari went red.

"I think that's what pissed off Zoe more when she finally found out..." she mumbled. "But I can relate to them. I can understand why they did it. Being adopted and all that. I guess that's why I defend them," Ari explained with a heavy sigh. Xander shook his head, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't dwell on it Ari, you're way cuter when you're smiling," he told her seriously, and Ari went bright red. She swatted at him, and he dodged, laughing.

"It scares me that you can say that with a straight face," she said, but was unable to stop her smile, despite blushing. "Thanks Xander, you're not that big a dork after all," Ari teased.

"You've gotta stop calling me that. It's gonna damage my image," he told her, which only served to make Ari laugh.

"Whatever you say," she shrugged, walking off. As soon as her back was turned, Xander's smile fell, and he ran a hand down his face, swearing under his breath. When he opened his eyes, he found Nick watching him with a wide smirk.

"I knew it," he stated simply, and Xander's eyes narrowed in a glare.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he turned away from the Red Ranger, who was now laughing to himself.

"Guys, I'm gonna clear things up with Leelee," Vida told them with a grin, and walked over to the blonde that was once again in the shop. "Leelee, you know that Vampire thing in the store the other day?" Vida smiled at her as the others watched from a distance. Leelee looked up at her, her expression wary. "I was just playing a joke on the guys," Vida explained, and Leelee smiled widely.

"Yeah, I knew that!" she insisted with a nervous laugh. "You didn't think I thought you were really a vampire, did you?" Leelee asked nervously.

"Of course not," Vida spoke, trying not to laugh. There was an awkward silence for a moment, before Leelee forced a smile.

"I gotta run!" she walked as quickly as she could out of Rock Porium, and as soon as she disappeared, the Rangers burst out laughing.

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**Not too long until Daggeron shows up, which seems to be what most, if not all of you, are looking forward to!**

**I'll do my best to update by Wednesday next week!**

**Please review!**


	11. Petrified Xander

**Well, Con-Season is officially over until Eirtakon in Novemeber! I'm going to work on getting back into my writing, but it seems my shifts in work have increased, and on top of looking for another job and my intention to play a lot of Vanguard in the next little while, I'm sick. Damn Con-Flu.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy! This was one chapter I had been particularly looking forward to writing, and I enjoyed writing it when I finally got to!**

* * *

Chapter 11: Petrified Xander

It had been over three weeks since the events of the Cimmerian Forest, and the Rangers were no closer to figuring out the secret of the Fireheart. Even after several weekends with sleep being replaced by reading through books all night, they still had no clue what the half of the scroll meant.

"Hey Chip, any luck with you know what?" Vida called as Chip wandered around shop. He held the paper in his hands, staring at it as if he expected something to suddenly jump out at him.

"Nah," he shook his head as he narrowly avoided walking into Ari.

"Hah! I've outsold you by twelve dollars and 50 cents. I win the bet. You, owe me lunch," Vida called to Xander as he stood behind her with his back to them.

"Not so fast, Xander the Great still has four minutes to go!" stubborn as always, he refused to admit defeat.

"Just give up Xander, you're never gonna beat her in four minutes," Ari laughed as she leaned on the counter. Leelee walked in, and Vida's grin fell.

"Oh...Leelee..." she rolled her eyes, looking back down. Despite the amount of time that she spent in Rock Porium, Leelee hardly bought anything.

"Can somebody help me here?" she almost shoved Ari out of the way to stand at the counter, looking at the three behind it expectantly.

"Not me," Ari then announced loudly, and Vida sniggered as Leelee shot her a dirty look. Ari just looked innocent, which she was very good at doing. Xander shoved Vida aside, and leaned on the counter.

"You look like a Zeppelin fan. Can I interest you in something?" he flashed her a charming smile. However, instead of falling for his charms, Leelee burst out laughing.

"Nice zit, Rudolph!" she mocked, walking off as he frowned in disbelief.

"Zit?" he then noticed the massive spot on the end of his nose. "Whoa!" his eyes widened and he pushed Vida and Chip out of the way to look in the mirror. They, plus Ari, were unable to stop laughing at him as he stared at his reflection.

"Oh, Xander the Great...Big Pimple!" Vida laughed as Ari put her hand to her mouth, trying to stop her laughter.

"It totally ruins my perfect profile...this zit is like having an extra nose!" Xander breathed in horror. He couldn't look away as Vida continued to laugh.

"That's it!" Chip's yell took them all by surprise, and Ari and Vida looked around at him curiously. "Maybe the Scroll to the Fireheart is like 2 halves of the same face! Minus the zit of course!" Vida hushed him quickly as Leelee looked over and quickly looked away.

"YES!" the blinds of the office suddenly opened as Toby cheered loudly. "SUCCESS!" he burst out of the small office and waved a puzzle at the Rangers. Xander didn't look away from his reflection as Vida, Chip and Ari attempted to look impressed. "I finished this entire crypto-magnetic puzzle, in just under 40 minutes," he declared proudly, gesturing to the puzzle in his hand. "I should work for the CIA," Toby told them. "Or the FBI...or better still! The Power Rangers!" Vida and Chip's smiles dropped, and Xander looked around at him quickly, his dark eyes wide. "What did I say?" Toby blinked at them, not understanding.

"Maybe your next puzzle should be tracking down the Power Rangers," Ari suggested with a bright smile, her hands behind her back as she turned to their boss.

"Yes! Perfect! The ultimate puzzle!" Toby yelled, turning and rushing back into his office. Vida and Chip looked at Ari with raised eyebrows, and she tilted her head, her smile dropping.

"What?" she asked innocently.

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Gathered in Rootcore, the Rangers waited for Chip to explain how he had figured out the secret of the scroll. After Maddie and Nick had managed to stop laughing at Xander, who was staring into another mirror, still horrified, Chip set the paper down.

"While Xander was staring at himself, and I was staring at Xander, the answer was staring at me," Xander let out a cry of protest when Chip grabbed the mirror from him. The Yellow Ranger then held it up beside the scroll, creating a full map. "What mountain does that look like?" he grinned at the four staring at the map.

"Mount Fuego!" after a moment, they all recognised the mountain. "Nice one Chip!" the cheered on the red-head, who grinned at them.

"So somewhere on that mountain, is what we've been looking for," Ari smiled as she looked at the full map.

"Right, let's go," Nick nodded to his team. "The Fireheart is waiting, we'll have to split up to cover that much territory," he told them, catching Xander's attention as he stared at a vase of roses. When he looked around, Nick bit his lip to stop himself from laughing again, and they hurried out.

"Come on Xander!" Ari called to him, laughing a little herself.

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Once they reached Mount. Fuego, the group of six Rangers split into two groups, with Maddie and Chip going with Nick while Ari, Xander and Vida went in another direction. They moved quickly up the mountain, searching for anything that would indicate the hiding place of whatever the Fireheart actually was.

"Ari! V! Come quick!" the pair looked at each other as Xander's yell reached them. They sprinted up the side of the mountain towards the Green Ranger, who had stopped running.

"What happened?" Ari asked as she reached him, putting a hand on his arm.

"Did you find it?" Vida questioned as she stood on his other side.

"What? Oh, no, look," Xander was grinning widely as he turned to the pair. He turned his head to the side, and they realised that his extra nose was gone. "My perfect profile has been restored! I'm back! Xander's back," he declared happily, and the two girls sighed heavily.

"This mountain isn't big enough for the four of us," Vida grumbled. "You, me, Ari, and your ego," she stomped off, continuing up the side of the mountain.

"Congratulations?" Ari tried, trying not to laugh. "Come on, before Vida decides to ruin your 'perfect profile' by hitting you with a rock," she warned him. Xander laughed as he followed her up towards Vida, too happy to take offence.

"Whoa, look at that!" Vida called to them, pointing to something nearby. The pair hurried to reach her, and they spotted a cave nearby, with something shining in the sun in front of it. The three ran over, and found a symbol made of metal attached to a rock.

"That's definitely the symbol," Xander recognised the symbol that represented the Fireheart.

"Let's check it out then! The sooner we check this out, the sooner we're out of the cave," Ari led the way into the cave.

"Be ready for anything," Vida spoke up as they looked around. The Pink Ranger stepped on a trick rock, and a panel overhead opened.

"Whoa, watch out!" Xander noticed it first, and both he and Ari rolled out of the way. Vida looked up, and green slime poured down, hitting her in the face and covering her.

"Cave slime..." Vida groaned as Ari started to laugh on the dusty ground. "Nasty..." the Pink Ranger complained as she wiped it from her face. "Ari, stop laughing or I will hurt you," Vida warned her as she glared at the black haired girl.

"Look," Xander spoke up as Ari managed to stop laughing, and get to her feet. They walked over to a pair of doors, with writing on the wall between them. Leaning close, Xander read it aloud. "'Fireheart is close at hand. Those who find it, shall rule the land. But take good care, for there is no clue. Is it door number one? Or door number two?'" they frowned, looking at the two doors curiously. "What do you think we should-V!" before Xander could finish asking, Vida leapt at door number one and yanked it open to reveal a shining chest.

"That's got to be it," Vida laughed as they looked down at it.

"You always have been lucky," Xander shook his head in disbelief.

"Except for the whole cave slime th-" Ari shrieked as Vida wiped the green slime on her face, and Ari darted to Xander's other side. "Come on...let's get out of here. I hate caves," Ari muttered as she wiped her face furiously.

"Hold up, I wanna see what's behind door number two," Xander decided, and pulled open the second door to peek inside. A loud roar rumbled out, and he quickly slammed it shut with a groan. "I, on the other hand, am not so lucky," he gulped as the two girls frowned at him. The door fell open as they backed away, and a monster burst out.

"Wonder how long he's just been sitting in there..." Ari mused as the monster roared at them angrily.

"Alright, let's Ranger up and show him whose boss," Xander ignored her strange thought, and they reached for their morphers. Only seconds later were the three tossed out of the cave, despite being morphed. "Ok...he's boss," the Green Ranger decided as he looked to the other two.

"Y'think?!" Vida rolled her eyes at him, and they jumped out of the way as the monster lunged at them. They attempted to knock it back, before it slammed its fist into Xander's stomach, flipping him and knocking him to the ground. "Xander!" Vida kicked the monster back, and Ari grabbed her Magi Staff.

"Gotta love a sunny day! Sun power!" she held up her staff as the sun symbol at the top lit up. The sunlight intensified around Ari, who then created an energy ball that shone much more brightly than usual. She threw it at the monster as her sun magic slammed into it as well, and the monster was destroyed.

"Power down," they demorphed, and Ari hurried over to Xander.

"You ok?" she asked, offering her hand to the fallen Ranger.

"Other than the bruise, I'm perfect," he grinned at her, and she pulled him to his feet.

"Let's get the Fireheart," Vida said to the pair, and they nodded. Vida and Ari ran back in to grab the chest, unaware that Xander had stopped.

1-2-3-4-5

Carrying the chest down from the mountain, the three met their friends at the bottom.

"Hey, we heard an explosion," Nick looked concerned as they reached them. Xander and Vida set down the surprisingly heavy chest, breathing heavily.

"We discovered that Xander is really not very lucky," Ari chuckled. Nick shot the Ranger in question a frown, and he shrugged, before they all tried to lift the lid of the chest.

"It's stuck," Chip frowned when it refused to budge.

"Look at this," Maddie gestured to a scroll attached to the chest with a ribbon.

"Another scroll?" Ari groaned. Unravelling the scroll, Maddie passed it up to Chip, and the timer that had been hidden behind it began to count down.

"It's counting down," Vida pointed it out to the others as Chip unrolled the paper and began to read.

"'This ancient puzzle is your task at hand, solve it quickly to receive what's grand. But if you fail this timely chore, the Fireheart will be no more.'," he read aloud with a frown. He looked up at the others to see they all looked as blank as he did. "Great...another riddle," Chip grumbled as he rolled up the scroll, before they were all blasted off their feet suddenly.

"Hand over the chest!" the Hidiac responsible demanded as he lowered his weapon. As they got back to their feet, more Hidiacs appeared, surrounding them quickly with screeches.

"Let's Ranger up," they grabbed their morphers quickly and flipped them open. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they morphed into their respective colours and began to fight off the mutants that surrounded them.

"Magi Staff, sword mode!" calling on her twin swords, Ari fought off the Hidiacs that surrounded her easily. The magic that Ari had called on to defeat the monster still lingered in her, granting her more strength, and within moments she had defeated the monsters that surrounded her, and the others did the same.

1-2-3-4-5

Fifteen minutes had passed and the Rangers were completely stumped over the puzzle that sat on the floor in front of them. The timer was frustrating, and they all stared at it, as if expecting it to jump out at them suddenly.

"Urgh, it's still counting down," Maddie complained, putting a hand to her face.

"Sorry guys, I've never seen a puzzle like this," Chip told them as he walked around it. "I don't even know where to begin," he sighed. "Ari? You're super smart, any clue?" he asked the Gold Ranger as she sat in front of it, frowning.

"I am?" she looked up with wide eyes.

"I think it surprises her more than anyone else sometimes," Nick muttered, and Vida sniggered.

"I haven't a clue, sorry," Ari shot Nick a frown, before looking back at it. Her eyes then lit up. "I think I might know someone who might though," she stood up, brushing herself off as they all looked to her.

"Who?" Maddie asked as she stood up too.

"Cam. He's super smart. Way smarter than anyone I know. Don't tell Hayley though, she'll kill me..." Ari muttered the last bit, and pulled out her phone. She then paused, looking at them. "Uh, it's ok that I tell him about this right? Cam's like the coolest guy in the world," she told them, and they shrugged.

"I guess so," Nick decided, but frowned. "But isn't he in Blue Bay Harbour? There's no way he'd get here in time," he told her, and Ari grinned.

"I'll get him here in less than ten minutes," she told the Red Ranger.

1-2-3-4-5

"Ok, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Cam asked as Ari pulled him into Rootcore.

"You gotta solve this Cam, we dunno how!" she told him, pulling him over to the chest.

"How...how did you get him here in...6 minutes?" Maddie asked with wide eyes, looking up from the chest.

"6 minutes? Cam, I think you're getting slow in your old age," Ari commented, looking innocent, and Cam frowned at her. "Ok, ok, this chest contains something called the Fireheart, which is super powerful and we totally have no clue what it is. And we can't get into it, without figuring out the puzzle, and we don't have time to explain everything else going on because we only have like 40 minutes left," Ari explained in a rapid voice that only Cam was able to keep up with.

"And you called me..." he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Because you're the smartest guy I know and you're super awesome and-"

"I'll give it a shot," Cam raised a hand to stop her from going on. Ari smiled widely at him, and he shook his head, unable to stop his own smile from showing through. He crouched down in front of the box, studying it intently as they all fell silent. Ari chewed on her thumbnail, watching the Samurai as he moved the heavy box slightly to study the other side.

"Well?" after a minute, Chip was unable to keep silent anymore. He was immediately shushed, and Cam shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I'd need much longer than what time is left to figure this out. I'm not a puzzle guy, I'm a technology guy," Cam spoke apologetically as they sighed.

"And a botany guy," Ari added with a small smile. Cam gave a smile back, thinking back to their trip to the botany gardens. "Thanks Cam, it was worth a shot. Sorry that I dragged you away from Melody like that," she apologised, thinking of the Fire Ninja that Cam had been dating for almost 2 years.

"Don't worry about it. It's good to get out now and again. Now will you please explain what's happening?" Cam asked as he looked around. "What is this place? And isn't this the forest that once you go into, you never come out?" he looked at Ari again, and she smiled widely despite their predicament.

"I have so much to tell you. Starting with how I proved you wrong," she told him triumphantly.

"You've still got leaves in your hair from the battle," Nick's words, and Xander's cry of pain made her look around quickly. "Whoa..." Nick stepped away from the Green Ranger in surprise when the sprout he had been attempting to pull out of Xander's hair didn't come out.

"It's nothing...really," Xander turned his back on them as he muttered. "I'm just having...a little issue," he held out his arms and they all gasped as they saw his arms. They had been covered in bark, making him look like a tree.

"What on Earth?" Cam adjusted his glasses to ensure that what he was seeing, was real. "What have you gotten yourself into?" he looked down at Ari as she stared at Xander. The others burst out laughing, and Xander frowned at them.

"This is funny to you guys?" they tried to stop laughing, shaking their heads quickly.

"Hey, come on, you always laugh when Claire turns herself into funny stuff," Vida pointed out, before she and Chip burst out laughing again.

"It could be something to do with your powers," Ari commented as she walked over, looking at his arms curiously. "You know, how me and Nick run way hotter than normal, and Maddie and Vida run colder? And how Chip keeps shocking people?" Chip grinned mischievously. He'd tormented the others when he first discovered how easily he could cause static shocks.

"Yeah, it'll go away," Maddie smiled at him, before biting her lip. "Knock on wood," she, Vida and Chip dissolved into another fit of laughter.

"Guys, guys, come on, enough. _Leaf _Xander alone," Nick told them through his own laughter, which intensified.

"Guys, can we focus on something more important, like opening the chest?" Giving up on them, he gestured to the chest. "We're running out of time," he pointed out, and their laughter faded.

"Hey, I got it," Chip spoke up as they all looked at the chest again.

"What, you solved the puzzle?"Vida asked in disbelief.

"No, but I think I know who can," he told them with a grin.

1-2-3-4-5

Cam sat in Rock Porium at the table, his hand on his face as Ari finished telling him what had happened in Briarwood since the recent earthquake. While Vida and Chip gave the puzzle to Toby, Ari leaned on the table with a grin.

"So in this strange forest that people are terrified of, is a gateway to another dimension in which magic rules?" he summed up, looking up at her, and Ari nodded at him with a smile. "You can see why this is difficult to grasp, can't you?" Cam couldn't help but smile wryly at the girl who had become like a younger sister to him.

"Yep!" Ari nodded with a smile. "It was weird for us too. At least now I'm technically old enough though, right?" she winked at him, and Cam let out a laugh.

"You were always old enough. Most of the time anyway," he added with a smirk, and Ari pouted at him. "Three times...you're addicted to saving the world," Cam told her. Ari blushed, shuffling her feet. "And magic..." Cam put a hand to his face again.

"Hey, is it really as weird as how you grew up in a secret ninja academy hidden behind a waterfall in the mountains?" Ari tilted her head and grinned at him. "And have a virtual twin brother?" she asked with a giggle.

"I grew up with that. That's normal. Magic is not," Cam replied, folding his arms. "At least I finally know why you were able to do all those strange things," he looked a little relieved at this. It had driven him crazy not knowing. He hated not knowing things. "You've definitely had a busy few months. Now I know why you haven't visited since Dustin's birthday," he mused, and Ari hugged him.

"I'm sorry Cam. I missed you too," she told him.

"Who said anything about missing you?" Cam teased her, pushing her away playfully. When she pouted at him again, the Samurai laughed and hugged her. "I better go anyway, I'm covering one of Tori's classes for her so she can do all that wedding stuff," he rolled his eyes and stood up.

"But the wedding isn't till next year. I know Tori likes to be organised and all, but still," Ari scrunched up her face.

"I'm not about to argue with her. Tori can be scary enough as it is. I'm not crossing her in bride-mode," Cam shrugged, making Ari laugh. "And she told me to let you know that you're not getting out of bridesmaid duties just because you live here. She expects you back in Blue Bay Harbour soon to try on dresses," Ari let out a pained groan as she followed him to the door.

"Ari in a dress?" Chip and Vida burst out laughing as Ari went red. "Now that I'd love to see," Chip laughed.

"Not as much as you'd love to see Vida in a dress!" Ari countered loudly, and both shut up abruptly. Chip went bright red, and Vida scowled at her, going red as well. "Take care Cam. Tell Mels and the others that I'll visit soon," she told her friend, hugging him again.

"I know. And be careful," Cam added, and Ari stuck out her tongue.

"Yes Sensei," she told him, and with a grin, Cam disappeared off, ninja-streaking back to Blue Bay Harbour. Ari smiled softly, but it dropped as soon as Xander walked in. He wore a long coat and hat to hide his appearance, which was growing worse by the minute.

"Ari!" he hissed at her, moving out of the way of the other customers.

"Xander, if you're trying not to be noticed, dressing like an 80's detective was not the way to go about it," she told him with barely suppressed laughter.

"It's getting worse," ignoring her teasing, he pulled down the front of his shirt to reveal that moss was now growing on his chest.

"Some girls are into that kinda thing. I think the amount of ladies queuing up to date you has just gone up," Ari teased, but her grin dropped when she saw his expression.

"I can't be seen like this! What if it doesn't go away?" he asked her quietly.

"Why wouldn't it?" Ari asked innocently, this time genuine. She could see how worried he was about what was happening to him. "You didn't do anything to cause it, right?" she asked, and when she saw his expression turn to a guilty one, she groaned. "Xander...what did you do?" the Gold Ranger asked, putting a hand to her face.

"I sprayed myself with Claire's perfection potion, hoping to fix my nose," he told her quietly. When Ari's eyes widened, he turned and looked in a mirror to see the bark spread across his face and cover the right side. "Now look at me..." he whispered, and ran out of the shop before Ari could stop him.

"V, I gotta go!" Ari called, and as Vida looked around, Ari ran out of the shop to look for her best friend.

1-2-3-4-5

Having no luck in looking for Xander around Briarwood, Ari returned to Rootcore, growling under her breath about him not answering his morpher.

"I've told him so many times, always answer. Unless you're in a life or death situation, _always _answer," she hissed, looking around. "Hey Claire?" Ari spotted the blonde apprentice who was only a few years older than her leaning on a table with a bunch of wilted flowers. "Have you seen Xander anywhere? I'm getting worried," she told the girl, who shook her head.

"No...but look," she gestured to the flowers sadly. "My potion failed. All of those pretty flowers I sprayed, died," she told the Gold Ranger as she walked over. As soon as she finished speaking, Ari froze, her breath catching in her throat. "What's wrong?" Claire asked, seeing her face.

"Xander..." Ari breathed quietly.

1-2-3-4-5

While Claire worked on a potion that would restore Xander to normal, Ari ran through the forest, calling out to Xander.

"This place is huge. I'm never going to find him in time..." Ari whispered as she slowed to a stop. Her heart was pounding and tears stung at her eyes. "No. I can't give up. Not on Xander," she shook her head quickly, and drew her morpher. "Come on, find him..." she cast a spell, and golden light shot out in the direction that Xander was located. She began running again, and before long, she came across Phineas' camp. "Hey Phineas," she greeted the Troblin as he got up.

"Hey. Careful what you say. Tough crowd," he told her, lifting the line that had rags hanging from it so she could move under it.

"Xander, I've been looking everywhere for you," Ari frowned at him, and he looked up at her in surprise. The mutation had grown even more, making him look almost completely like a tree. "I was really worried. You know how much I hate it when you don't answer your morpher," she sat down beside him.

"I just needed some time away from all the jokes and the laughter," Xander muttered, resuming glaring at his hands.

"You know, if you'd told us from the beginning that this was caused by a potion, the others wouldn't have laughed as much," Ari told him gently. Xander didn't respond, but his stomach clenched as he knew she was right. "You told me to rely on you guys. You need to do the same," she told him, putting a hand on his wood covered arm.

"What's it matter now? It's too late. I'm right where I belong now," he muttered angrily.

"Claire's working on an antidote right now. It's not too late. It's never too late," Ari told him as tears stung her green eyes. She'd never seen him so down before.

"I was so worried about looking perfect...now, I'll never be able to show my face to anyone, ever again," he looked down at his feet. "Xander the Great is gone for good," he mumbled.

"Xander the Great was never just a pretty face," Ari's words made him look up at her quickly. "Not to me. Not to Nick, Maddie, Chip and Vida. Not to Toby, or Udonna, or Althea. Or Claire," she listed off with a laugh. "Or anyone else that's important. You're so confident all the time, even when we're in hopeless situations, or when we've been dragged into a battle to save the world. I've always admired that about you," she told him with a smile, despite the tears remaining in her eyes.

"How can I be confident now?" Xander asked her.

"Because confidence comes from inside. Under all of that bark is your confidence," Ari poked him, still smiling. "And hey, just because I tease you, doesn't mean I don't think there's more to you than just your looks. You're my best friend Xander, and you've been there for me so much. Not even you turning into a tree will stop me being your friend," she told him as he stared at her.

"You're right. I am more than just a pretty face," he finally smiled, and Ari laughed.

"Now you're getting it," she stood up, and held out her hand. "Let's go back to Rootcore and get you back to normal," Xander grinned and took her hand, but as he stood up, he swayed, almost falling over. "You're taking root!" Ari looked down to see roots holding him in place. "Come on!" she grabbed his other hand and began pulling.

"I don't think this is gonna work!" Xander yelled as he tried to move, but nothing worked. Ari pulled as hard as she could, but he didn't budge. "It's not working! My arms are stiffening! It's gonna take a miracle!" he cried.

"Guys! You guys!" Ari looked over Xander's shoulder to see Claire running towards them, holding something. "I've got the antid-" as she spoke, Claire tripped over a root and crashed to the ground. The bottle flew out of her hand and shattered against a rock, and the antidote spilled out over the grass.

"The antidote!" Ari ran over to it and grabbed the bottle, barely registering the pain as a jagged edge slit her finger. She lifted the bottle, but there was only a little bit left. Claire looked at her with a horror stricken gaze as dirt smeared her face. "No!" she yelled as Xander's mouth sealed over, and she dropped the bottle, grabbing the front of his shirt as fear took over. "Xander!" tears began to spill down her face. Helpless, she let out a cry, and golden lights suddenly surrounded him, and when they faded, Xander was back to normal, looking a little alarmed.

"Ari?" he looked down at the girl who was still clinging to his shirt, tears still rolling down her face. She looked up, her eyes wide as she realised he was back to normal. After a moment, Ari let out a furious yell.

"You jerk!" she yelled, releasing him to slam her fist into his chest. "Why would you do that?" Ari was unable to stop her tears as she punched him again. Xander pulled her into a tight hug, and she continued sobbing as she clutched at his shirt tightly.

"I'm so sorry," Claire got to her feet, brushing herself off.

"No, it was my fault Claire. Thank you for helping," Xander told her as Ari managed to slow her crying.

"You're still a jerk," she stepped back quickly, wiping her eyes furiously with the backs of her hands.

"I know. But at least you stick around to get me out of trouble," he grinned at her, and Ari let out a laugh, unable to stop herself. "Thank you," his smile softened, before his morpher chimed. He pulled it from its pouch and opened it, and a new code lit up. "New spell code," he realised, looking up at the pair.

"_Guys! We need your help_!" Nick called suddenly. "_Hurry_!" sounds of a fierce battle on the other end echoed up at them.

"Let's get moving then," Ari nodded as she wiped her eyes again, and they ran off, with Claire close behind.

1-2-3-4-5

"Over there!" Xander spotted the four struggling to fight off the large swarm of Hidiacs, who were preventing them from getting close to the monster.

"You guys ok?" Ari called as they ran up to the fight, both morphed as well.

"Just in time! That bonehead's going after the Fireheart!" Nick yelled as he struggled, held back by several of the mutants.

"Xander, you deal with him. I'll help take these guys out," Ari told him, and he nodded. While Xander ran off to fight the monster, Ari drew her Magi Staff and sprinted at the Hidiacs. They screeched and snarled at her as she switched her Magi Staff's form into her twin swords.

With an extra Ranger helping, the battle quickly changed in their favour. As some of the Hidiacs turned to fight Ari, the other four Rangers were able to fight off their own opponents much more easily. Ari flipped over the head of one of the monsters, landing in the middle of them. She spun quickly, holding out her swords, and cut through them easily. "Let's finish this! Sun Power!" holding her swords in the air. The sunlight intensified around her, and cut into the mutants, taking them out. As the others did the same, Xander defeated the monster with a pair of powerful boxing gloves that he had gained from his new spell code.

"You did it!" Vida cheered as they all ran over to the Green Ranger.

"Got a new spell code," Xander explained to the others as Nick studied the gloves curiously. They disappeared, and he flexed his hands as Chip looked at his morpher, which lit up.

"We all got it! Guess we can all use it," he held up his morpher to show them as they cheered.

1-2-3-4-5

The clock was steadily ticking down, and the Rangers were pacing around Rock Porium, desperately hoping that their boss would be able to figure out the riddle of the Fireheart.

"Wait! I think I've got it!" hearing Toby's yell, the six burst into his office. Their boss was soaked in sweat, and his hair looked even crazier than usual.

"You solved it?" Chip asked hopefully, and Toby looked up, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Yes, yes! It's a mathematical conundrum," he told them, seemingly unaware that he was yelling. "You see, each of these buttons corresponds to a number, that when divided by Pi...gives a series of images, that all point towards...this button," Toby pointed at a button with the ruler he was waving around. Vida glanced at it, and back up at the others, who nodded at her. Holding her breath, Vida pressed the button. There were several loud dings and clicking noises, before the chest made a ringing noise, and the lock popped open. "I'm the greatest puzzle solver on the face of the planet!" Toby declared as the Rangers all breathed out, finally able to relax. Ari sat down on the chair for a moment, running a hand through her hair.

"Thanks a lot Toby," without waiting, Nick and Chip grabbed the chest and hauled it off his desk.

"Wait! What's inside?! You gotta tell me!" their boss followed them out, pleading with them.

"Uh, Toby..." Xander blocked his way, thinking quickly as they all panicked. "If a tree makes a mistake in the forest, and a friend comes to help him, does the tree learn its lesson?" he glanced to Ari, and winked at her. She laughed, but it died quickly when her stomach did a strange flip.

"A riddle! Oh!" Toby rushed back into his office to try and figure out the nonsense question.

"Come on," Xander called to the Gold Ranger, who was now looking very confused as she followed them out.

1-2-3-4-5

The six, joined by Udonna, Althea and Claire, stood in Rootcore, eager to see what was inside the chest. They had somehow managed to resist peeking inside, despite both Chip and Ari attempting to do so. They all stood around the chest, looking down at it.

"Anyone wanna take bets?" Ari asked the others, bouncing a little as her strange reaction in Rock Porium was quickly forgotten.

"Well I know that if it's another scroll I'm gonna go crazy," Vida grinned, making Ari laugh.

"I hear that," she agreed.

"Here we go," Nick finally lifted the lid, and raised it so everyone could see inside. A large egg, red and gold in colour, sat in the chest in front of them.

"Oh my goodness, is that...?" Althea adjusted her glasses as she leaned closer.

"It's not a scroll!" Ari cheered, earning several looks. "What? It's happened before," she shrugged.

"An egg?" Chip looked to Udonna with a frown. "The Fireheart is an egg?"

"No ordinary egg Chip..." Udonna looked just as amazed as Althea did. "This is the last _dragon _egg," she told them. Stunned, the Rangers exchanged shocked looks, none of them having been expecting the Fireheart to be a dragon.

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**FINALLY something's starting to happen. Though of course, Ari isn't the brightest bulb on the tree when it comes to herself so...it's going to take some time.**

**Ari and Cam's relationship is one of my favourites, which is why I like to have it featured whenever I can. I hope you liked his little cameo, even if it wasn't for long!**

**Please review!**


	12. The Gatekeeper Part 1

**I can't believe how many reviews I've already gotten for this fic so far, not to mention follows and favourites! It's definitely some kind of record for me! I'm glad that you seem to be enjoying it so far, and I hope that continues!**

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Chapter 12: The Gatekeeper Part 1

Twirling her morpher in her hands, Ari stood with her eyes closed in Rootcore. She was very aware of Althea's boots clicking off the stone floor as the Knight paced in front of her.

"Focus entirely on the image, and just let your magic flow," Ari took a breath, and focused. She felt the familiar warmth of her magic surge through her, along with a strange tingling that wasn't entirely uncomfortable. Hearing Althea's laugh, she opened her eyes and looked at her mother. "Not bad for a first attempt," Althea looked amused, holding up a mirror. Ari peered into it, and found herself looking at an older version of herself, with much longer hair.

"I just look like an older me," she frowned, looking up at Althea, who laughed.

"You forget that we do look similar," Althea teased her as the magic faded and Ari returned to normal. "It's always easiest to try and take on the appearance of someone who resembles you, but you still did very well for your first attempt," she told the Gold Ranger, who returned her morpher to her side. Ari had told her that she had been interested in shape-shifting magic, which Althea specialised in, and the Knight had offered to teach her.

"Thanks," Ari shrugged, despite not feeling that way.

"What, did you expect to get it instantly?" Ari went red, which was all the answer Althea needed. The moon witch laughed, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Nobody is that good sweetheart. Not even Udonna. Though your magic is much more powerful than I expected, you are only learning to control it," Althea told her as she leaned against the counter. "But that is not a bad thing. After all, your uncontrolled magic is what saved Xander, is it not?" she tilted her head, and Ari tensed.

"Claire told you..." she mumbled, looking away.

"Of course she told me. You managed to reverse a potion that was seconds away from completing its task," Althea spoke gently as Ari stared at the floor.

"How did I do it?" she finally looked up, confusion in her eyes. "There was an antidote, but the bottle shattered before it could be used," she told Althea, who nodded. She had heard all about it from Claire, who was just as confused as Ari was now.

"Your finger," Ari's puzzled features scrunched up in a frown, and she looked down at her finger, which had an almost completely healed cut across it from where she had cut herself on the broken bottle. "Like I said. Your magic is powerful. You absorbed the magic of the antidote, and a loss of control allowed it to do what it was created to do," Althea explained gently. Ari's hands clenched into fists.

"I got scared. I don't cope with that well," she explained in a quiet voice, before her eyes widened. "That's how I broke the Gem's hold on Trent...and got us out of the Abyss...and all those other times...getting scared made me lose control of my magic..." she realised.

"Sweetheart, you only learned of your magic a little while ago," Althea walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Nobody expects you to get it right away. Except maybe you," she added, and Ari bit her lip to try and stop herself from smiling.

"Thanks...mum..." Althea paused as a blush filled Ari's cheeks. Unable to stop herself, Althea pulled her into a hug. After a moment, Ari reciprocated, before her morpher chimed. "What's up?" still embarrassed, Ari answered quickly.

"_It's Toby! Necrolai just swooped down and grabbed him_!" Ari's eyes widened at Chip's words.

"_Necrolai? I thought we took care of her_!" Nick's voice joined them.

"_Apparently not, I guess that Dawn Crystal didn't stick,_" Chip sighed.

"_Well, let's get down there and make it stick_!" Vida yelled, sounding furious. Ari looked to Althea, who nodded at her.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" the two morphed into their Gold and Silver suits, and as Althea went for her broom, Ari ran out of Rootcore. As soon as she left the massive tree, her Ninja powers kicked in and she streaked towards the battle taking place in town.

Arriving in Briarwood just as the others leapt off their Racers to join Nick in fighting Necrolai, Ari landed beside Nick as he faced the Vampire.

"Back off Rangers!" Necrolai snapped at them, and the Rangers responded by falling into fighting stances.

"Not about to happen!" Althea leapt off her broom as she joined them. They ran at her, but she was faster and more powerful, and within moments she had knocked them all to the ground. She looked over at Toby, who was watching from behind and crate, before he ran off. "Get back!" Necrolai chased after him, but Nick jumped up and blocked her path. "Out of my way!" she snarled.

"I'll get him away from here!" Ari called, running over and grabbing Toby's arm. "Brace yourself," she warned, before streaking off with the record shop owner.

"No!" Necrolai shrieked as she followed, but Althea wrapped her whip around Necrolai's ankle and yanked her back down. "Bad move witch," the Vampire hissed at her.

"What do you want with him?!" Nick yelled.

"The Gatekeeper will be mine!" Necrolai declared, and Althea put a hand to her helmet at the mention of the Gatekeeper.

"Gatekeeper?" Nick, on the other hand, didn't recognise the name.

"He possesses more power than all of you put together!" she shouted as the other four pushed themselves to their feet. "I'll be back!" with a shriek, she leapt into the air and flew off.

"What was she talking about?" Nick asked, turning to Althea.

"We need to get back to Rootcore. This is a serious problem," she frowned under her helmet. The other Rangers exchanged confused glances, not understanding at all.

1-2-3-4-5

Having returned Toby to Rock Porium and told the dizzy man to lie down for a few hours, Ari rejoined the other Rangers as they returned to Rootcore. Althea had refused to say anything about the Gatekeeper until they found Udonna.

"Udonna!" Maddie called out for the Snow Witch, who had been working on a potion. "Something weird is going on," they all ran up to her as she continued working.

"We just had a close encounter with Necrolai," Xander told her.

"Udonna, she's searching for the Gatekeeper," Althea spoke softly. Udonna stiffened, her head lifting in her horror.

"What is this Gatekeeper?" Ari asked, having heard what Necrolai had been after from the others. "Why is Necrolai after them?" she looked to Althea, who didn't look away from Udonna. The worried expression on the Knight's face told them that it wasn't good.

"The Gatekeeper, was a powerful sorceress named Niella," Udonna finally spoke up after a moment. She looked around, a sad expression on her face. "She was my sister," she explained, as she walked past them, standing by the Xenotome. "Niella cast a spell that sealed the Gate, and banished Morticon and his armies to the Underworld. The spell was so strong that it depleted all of her life force. When the Gate was lowered to the depths, Niella was gone..." everyone was silent as Udonna told them a story of her painful past. "But her spirit lives on in my heart," she managed a small, sad smile. "And through the legacy of her child," she finished.

"She had a child?" Maddie asked in surprise, her eyes wide.

"Yes. And I fear that is whom Necrolai is seeking," she frowned, tears still lingering in her eyes.

"We need to find that child before Necrolai does," Ari looked to her friends, who nodded.

"You won't have to look far," Althea's shrug earned their attention.

"Niella's daughter, and the heir to the Gatekeeper's power, is Claire," Udonna explained for her. Stunned the Rangers turned from her, to the frozen apprentice as she reappeared.

1-2-3-4-5

"I still can't believe it," Maddie spoke as the Rangers stood in Rock Porium, getting back to work. "_Claire _has legendary powers strong enough to lock up the forces of evil?" she summed up as they all stood together.

"Or unlock them," Nick pointed out.

"Guys, guys!" Toby called out to them as he ran in, looking alarmed. "You'll never believe what happened today!" he told them as they looked around at him quickly.

"So much for resting for a couple of hours," Ari muttered as she checked her watch.

"I actually met-" before he could finish telling them what they already knew, their morphers chimed.

"Sorry boss, I gotta take this," Xander drew his morpher quickly and turned his back on the man. Althea warned him of the latest trouble, and he groaned. "It's Necrolai, she's shown up in the City Plaza," he told the others as he looked around at them.

"Let's go!" Nick called, running past Toby as he frowned.

"Where are you going?" he yelled after them, and Vida skidded to a stop.

"Break time Toby, back in a few," she told him, and ran to catch up with the others.

1-2-3-4-5

Spotting Necrolai standing alone, the Rangers, already morphed, leapt down to meet her.

"Hold it right there!" Nick yelled to the Vampire, who had her back to them.

"I'm glad you could make it, Rangers," she told them, sounding amused.

"You'll never find the Gatekeeper, so give it up!" Vida told her confidently. Necrolai turned around, chuckling at the Pink Ranger's words.

"Oh, I have a new plan. I'll let the Gatekeeper find me," Necrolai told them, before holding out her hands. Dark magic crackled in the air around her, before her arms changed. A long blade appeared on one arm, and claws on the other, providing her with lethal new weapons. "Someone so noble would never stand by while the Rangers are being _destroyed_!" she cackled, and they all stared at her new weapons. "Do you like my new powers?" Necrolai taunted.

"Like this! Magi Staff!" Nick leapt into the air to attack, but a quick blast from Necrolai floored him.

"Nick, you alright?" Vida called as they ran over to him. When Necrolai fired another attack, Ari jumped forwards and held up her hands. The attacks shattered her shield, but were destroyed in the process.

"Nice try little girl, but that won't last forever!" Necrolai yelled as she fired another blast at them.

"Magi Staff, sun power!" Ari called on her magic to empower her shield, which barely held as Necrolai's magic slammed into it. "Guys, move!" she yelled to the others as they helped Nick up. Another attack slammed into it, causing the shimmering light in front of the Gold Ranger to crack.

"Not without you!" Xander told her, knowing that her damaged shield wouldn't last if Ari moved as well.

"Move!" not giving any of them a chance to argue, Ari turned put her strength into tripping them and knocking them to the ground, just as Necrolai's next attack shattered her shield and slammed into her. The Gold Ranger cried out as she was thrown through the air, before hitting the ground hard and demorphing.

"Ari!" Nick called as she groaned, rolling onto her back.

"I'm fine..." she insisted, but she was grimacing in pain. Necrolai just laughed, and turned, holding up her hand so that Althea's whip wrapped around her new weapon. The Knight's eyes widened under her helmet, and she was yanked from her broom and swung into a building. The other Rangers leapt up and ran at Necrolai, quickly joined by Althea as she recovered. However, Necrolai easily avoided all of their attacks, and with her new power floored them once again.

"Foolish rangers!" she laughed as she stalked towards the fallen Rangers.

"You're the fool if you think I'm giving up!" refusing to give in, Nick got back to his feet and called on his sword. He ran at the Vampire, ready for another round. "You'll never get the Gatekeeper while we're around!" he used his sword to deflect each of her attacks, but as he got close, Necrolai's speed and superior strength sent him straight back to the others, groaning in pain.

"You're beat, and no-one has come to save you," Necrolai taunted as she stood over Ari, pressing her boot into the injured girl's stomach. Ari resisted crying out, but a whimper escaped as she glared up. "Maybe there _is _no other Gatekeeper," Necrolai mused, not lifting her boot. She let out a cry of pain when magic slammed into her back, throwing her away from Ari. "What?!" she cried out as she looked around.

"Wrong Necrolai!" Claire told her as she ran towards the fight. In her hand was the circlet that belonged to the Gatekeeper. "My mother's spirit lives inside me!" she told the bat.

"Claire!" Ari looked over at her, trying to push herself into a sitting position.

"Don't do it!" Althea pleaded with the apprentice, who didn't listen. Instead, she placed the circlet into her head, and activated its magic.

"Power of the shining moon! Behold, the Gatekeeper!" Claire's outfit changed into the garb of the Gatekeeper, and the Rangers could all feel the powerful magic that now emanated from the girl.

"The Oracle was right! So there is another...and my plan to draw you out has worked perfectly!" Necrolai told her with a confident laugh.

"You're going to regret ever meeting me, witch," Claire growled at her, looking more determined than the Rangers had ever seen her. She held out her hand, and summoned a staff, which she used to conjure a shield that easily blocked Necrolai's attack.

"No!" Necrolai cried out in horror. Her full strength hadn't been enough to even put a dent in Claire's magic. Casting a counter attack, the girl's magic surrounded Necrolai, who screeched and fell to her knees as her enhancements disappeared. "My new powers...they're gone!" she cried. The Rangers ran over to Claire, while Ari watched from the side-lines.

"Let's give her a hand Rangers!" the six Rangers still morphed leapt into the air as Necrolai got to her feet. They slammed into her, and Necrolai cried out as she fell to the ground again.

"You will still lose Rangers," as they landed, Necrolai pushed herself up, clearly injured. "I'll return!" she warned them, and flew off.

"You ok?" Xander helped Ari to her feet and supported her. Ari nodded, ignoring her clenching stomach that irritated her more than the pain she was feeling from taking Necrolai's hit. He helped her over to Claire as the others cheered her on. Althea looked to Ari, looking to see if her injuries were bad.

"There's no time for that. Udonna's been captured," she told them quickly, and their rush of victory quickly faded.

"How did that happen?" Althea asked as her green eyes widened in alarm. However, before Claire could tell them, Nick cried out, putting his hands to his helmet as everyone jumped.

"Nick...what is it?" Vida asked as Koragg's message ended, and the pain that split through Nick's head eased and his breathing became normal.

"He wants to fight you...alone..." Nick staggered a little as he walked towards Claire.

"I accept," frowning, Claire agreed, ready to battle.

1-2-3-4-5

As Claire went to fight Koragg, the remaining seven returned to Rootcore to watch from the Globe.

"We shouldn't have let Claire go on her own..." Maddie frowned as they stood by the table. Ari was seated nearby as Althea used her magic to lessen her pain and leave her with a few less bruises.

"You saw how she was back there. She sent Necrolai running," Vida shrugged, but looked just as worried as the others did.

"Do not put Necrolai and Koragg in the same league," Althea warned as she straightened up, finished with the healing process. "While Necrolai is indeed powerful, Koragg is far more so," Ari got up, adjusting her shirt and walking over to the others.

"She's right," Nick frowned, turning to the Globe. It showed Claire as she walked towards Koragg, and after a moment, they began fighting. Nobody spoke in Rootcore as they watched the pair fight. While at first it seemed to go in Claire's favour, but it quickly turned as Koragg proved to be more powerful. Claire used her magic to grow to a much greater size, and Koragg called on Catastros to fight her. It was over quickly, as Koragg overwhelmed her with one attack and forced her back to regular size. "I've had enough of this," Nick growled, and the others followed quickly.

"Ari, you ok to fight?" Maddie asked, and the Gold Ranger nodded.

"I'm almost as good as new. Takes a lot more than that to keep me down," Ari told her, and they hurried to save Claire from Koragg.

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Koragg stood over Claire, who scrambled away from him, but she was badly beaten and exhausted from the fight, and was unable to do anything as he raised his sword over her. Before he could land a finishing blow, Chip called out.

"Koragg!" he blasted the surprised Knight with his magic, and Vida leapt in from the other side, knocking him back with her own magic. They stood together, morphed and ready to fight.

"Rangers!" Claire stared up at them.

"Right!" Chip nodded with a grin.

"Do not interfere!" Koragg snarled at them, and the only response was Nick leaping over their shoulders.

"Mystic Force Fighters!" he called on the powerful boxing gloves and bounced off Chip and Vida's shoulders. "Spin attack!" the Red Ranger spun through the air as his magical flames surrounded him, and he slammed into Koragg. "Pick on someone your own size!" he yelled at the Knight angrily. Before they could start fighting, they heard Claire cry out, and looked around to see Necrolai holding the girl. "Claire!" they ran to help, but Koragg blocked their way.

"Stop!" he called, and Necrolai yanked Claire's head back.

"By the power of the Gatekeeper, let the Gate rise up!" Necrolai activated Claire's powerful magic, and the girl screamed in pain as purple magic shot into the air. The sky turned dark, and the Rangers looked up, feeling the darkness looming.

"The Gate..." Koragg looked around as the ground shook, and a massive gate rose up.

"Oh this is just what we need," Ari gulped as they ran over to Claire, helping the horrified girl to her feet.

"Oh man...now what?" Nick frowned as they all looked up at the gate that loomed over them.

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**I'll attempt to update by the weekend, but I've been putting a lot of work into my latest fic to be published Harmony and Trust, so it may be slightly later!**

**Please review!**


	13. The Gatekeeper Part 2

Chapter 13: The Gatekeeper Part 2

Staring up at the large gate to the Underworld, all of them at a loss for what to do. Ari could feel her Dino Powers and her magic weakening as the thick black clouds completely blanketed the sky and cut off almost all of the light.

"I'm sorry Rangers..." Claire's voice was weak and hoarse.

"It wasn't your fault Claire," Althea put a hand on her shoulder, but the weakened apprentice could feel her shaking. She couldn't blame her for being scared. The last time Althea had seen the gate, was during the Great War, and she'd lost almost as much as Udonna had.

"Look! Up at the Gate!" Xander was the first to notice one of the Gargoyles that stood at the gate come to life. It let out a rattling roar as it leapt from the gate and landed, causing the ground to shake. Spotting the Rangers and Claire, it fired a blast of dark magic that threw them into the air and back down to the ground.

"Get up!" they looked up weakly as Koragg yanked Claire to her feet.

"Claire!" they all tried to get up, but the pain of the last attack prevented them from moving much.

"You won't get away this time. And the Gargoyle of the Gate will take care of you!" Koragg glanced to the Rangers, not finding them worth his time.

"Wait!" Nick managed to get to his feet, and ran at Koragg. However, despite only having one hand to fight, Koragg easily blocked Nick's attacks with his shield, and with a powerful thrust, knocked the Red Ranger back.

"Nick!" the others got up and hurried to the Red Ranger, and with a laugh, Koragg created a spell seal that he and Claire began to disappear through.

"No!" the seven ran towards the seal, but were too late, and Claire disappeared with the dark Knight.

"Look out!" before they could think of what to do, Nick spotted the Gargoyle about to attack again. The Rangers leapt into the air, and Althea called on her broom as the others cast the spell to become Titans. They combined, and immediately called on their power.

"MYSTIC SPELL SEAL!" they swung their sabre hard, and the seal shot at the Gargoyle. The monster disappeared, and reappeared behind them, landing a blow to their back. When they attempted to strike again, he disappeared and reappeared just out of reach. With a shriek, the Gargoyle hit the Megazord with his weapon. The Rangers cried out as they fell into the gate, before a sword appeared through the crack. The Rangers were thrown forward from the force of the blow from behind.

"Hello Rangers!" the owner of the sword laughed, a grating noise that sent a shiver down their spine.

"Morticon!" Chip realised as they turned to face the robotic-like monster.

"Your Megazord cracked the Gate, enough for me to slip through!" Morticon spoke as he slowly forced the gate open and made his way out. "Now, the whole world will know my crushing power! Yes! The time has come! The destruction of the surface world, is at hand!" the Megazord stepped back from the Gate, aware that the Gargoyle was approaching from behind.

"Uh oh..." Nick gulped as they watched Morticon emerge from the Gate.

"I've done it! I'm free!" he roared, feeling his victory at hand. He swung his sword and the blast slammed into the Megazord, throwing them closer to the Gargoyle, who waited for Morticon's orders.

"Oh no...he's out..."

"What now?!"

"We gotta fight him?!" Chip gulped. They were all able to sense Morticon's dark powers, which set them all on edge worse than they already were.

"We gotta keep an eye on our back too!" Ari was very aware of the Gargoyle waiting to attack.

"Looks like we don't have a choice. Come on guys!" Nick spoke with determination. They went on the offensive, but Morticon was stronger and faster. With a couple of hits to their front, the Megazord staggered, groaning and creaking loudly.

"We've got wings, let's use them!" Ari yelled, knowing that their Megazord couldn't take much more.

"Ari's right! Let's take it to the sky!" Nick agreed, and calling on their magic, the Megazord flew into the air, through another spell seal.

"SPIRITS OF THE ANCIENT TITANS!"

"Come on!" Morticon goaded as he looked up at them, unafraid as they called on their magic.

"TITAN'S ATTACK!" the Megazord shot back down, swinging the sabre that contained their combined power. Morticon blocked it with his sword, and with a yell, pushed them to the side and out of the way. The Rangers cried out as they hit the ground, the cockpit of their Megazord sparking.

"Is that the best you've got?!" Morticon wasn't impressed in the slightest.

"Hardly!" the Rangers refused to give in and forced their Megazord back up. Morticon held out his sword, and dark energy surrounded it.

"Now you'll see what true power feels like! Dark Magic Strike!" he roared, having had enough of them. He threw the attack, breaking apart the Megazord. The Rangers returned to their normal size, demorphing and crashing to the ground.

"He's so strong..." Ari groaned as she rolled off the rubble she had landed on.

"His Dark Magic is incredible...how can we match that?" Xander demanded from where he lay.

"Are you ok?" Althea flew down and leapt off her broom, running over to the group. She helped them up, and all of them staggered, looking up at Morticon as he laughed.

"He's too powerful for us," Chip groaned, a hand to his chest as Althea looked up. The sky grew dark again, and Morticon laughed as he stomped through the city.

"I don't like the look of that," Chip gulped.

"Destroy it! Destroy it all!" he and the Gargoyle began destroying Briarwood.

"Is this really how it's going to end?" Maddie looked terrified.

"No! This is _not _how it ends! Udonna told us that we're the protectors of this city," Nick growled as he turned to his friends.. "And that's what we're going to do," Althea smiled as she saw their determination return.

"You'll have to get past me first!" Necrolai shrieked as she flew at them, and Althea grabbed her whip from her side.

"I'll handle her. You finish this fight, and save Claire and Udonna," she told them, and smiled under her helmet. "I know you'll win. Good always does in the end," Althea then leapt into the air, landing on her broom and flying off to fight Necrolai in the air.

"No pressure," Ari muttered as she watched her mother leading Necrolai away.

"She's right!" Nick shook his head as he looked to her. "Let's go!" they drew their morphers, flipping them open.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they all morphed, and while Nick called on his Rider, the others called became Titans again, and combined to make their Dragon formation. They flew around, attacking the Gargoyle with fireballs while avoiding counter attacks, and with one final blast, they destroyed it.

They then turned to Morticon, flying towards the monster and firing another blast of fire. He blocked it with his sword, and grabbed the Dragon as it flew past.

"Don't you know who you're dealing with?!" Morticon roared, throwing them into the air. He let out a yell, and his following attack split them back into Titans. Refusing to give up, however, the five Titans got back to their feet and launched another attack, coming at Morticon from all angles. "You'll never win, face it!" the monster was getting irritated as he knocked them back down.

"Wanna bet?" Ari shot into the air, flying around Morticon's head. As he focused on her, Chip hit him from behind, but it barely even fazed him.

"Even when you can hit me, it's just like a tickle! You're _pathetic_!" he roared, jumping up and catching Ari. He hurled her into Maddie, and the pair fell to the ground with cries. He continued to beat them as they kept getting up. "Just stay down!" Morticon was growing more and more furious with their refusal to be beaten.

"Never!" despite aching all over, Chip ran at him, and was hit again. Morticon managed to block Xander's axe, but as he knocked the Green Titan back, a light pierced through the black clouds.

"What's that?!" Morticon snarled as flew past him, and hit the gate. The gate was sealed, and began to shake. "What's happening?!" he cried out as the Gate began to lower, taking with it Morticon's army.

"Look!" the Rangers watched from the ground.

"The Gate!"

"Impossible! Who has done this?!" Morticon roared as the dark clouds disappeared, and Briarwood was filled with light once again. "My Dark Magic! Who _dares _interfere?!" the monster demanded as he looked around for the culprit.

"Hey! That would be me!" Nick's voice filled the air.

"Hey! It's Nick!"

"And Catastros!"

"No way!"

Leaping from the back of the black horse that normally only obeyed Koragg, Nick cast another spell to combine with Castastros to make the Centaurus Phoenix Megazord.

"Now it's my turn! FIRE TAIL!" Nick used his much greater power, and quickly overwhelmed Morticon. "Come on Rangers!" he looked to his friends, who got up and stood around him.

"_You insolent little ants_!" Morticon snarled furiously as he got to his feet.

"You guys ready?"

"Ready!" the Rangers combined with his Megazord.

"Let's do it!" they grabbed their sabre and fought of Morticon with much greater ease now that they held the power of Catastros. They knocked him to the ground, and a light filled the air above them. "Check it out!" they held their staffs up, and the light filled their Magi Staffs, causing them to start glowing.

"Where'd this energy come from?" Xander wondered.

"No idea, but it couldn't have come at a better time!" Vida grinned.

"Let's see what this new power does!" Ari cheered. They held their hands over their consoles, activating their magic.

"Time to end this!" Morticon announced, holding out his sword so his dark magic surrounded it. "DARK MAGIC STRIKE!"

"ANCIENT POWER, MYSTIC SPELL SEAL!" the Rangers retaliated with their own magic, meeting his sword with their own sabre. On contact, Morticon's sword completely froze.

"What?!" Morticon let out a cry as he fell back, weighed down with the block of ice that was his sword.

"How did we do that?" Vida demanded.

"We froze it!"

"It's gotta be..." Maddie was smiling as she realised.

"Udonna?"

"You mean the White Ranger!" Chip grinned.

"She must have her Snow Staff!" Ari realised with a grin. Feeling a cool hand touch theirs, the Rangers looked to their right to see the White Ranger standing beside them.

"Yeah! Now we can't lose!" Nick's resolve grew, as did the others as they cheered. "TOGETHER!" raising their sabre, they called on the combined power of theirs and Udonna's. "MYSTIC STRIKE!" the powerful hit slammed into Morticon.

"The great Morticon, has fallen, but the Master will prevail!" he swore as his body sparked wildly.

"Checkmate!" with one last call, Morticon collapsed, exploding.

"Morticon!" Necrolai cried as she looked up from her battle with Althea, which had been going in the Knight's favour. "It can't be!" she cried out, and flew off before Althea could do any more damage. The woman smiled as she looked up at the apparition of Udonna, and the Megazord.

"Great job Rangers, Morticon's gone!" Nick grinned to his friends.

"Forever!" they all laughed, celebrating their victory.

1-2-3-4-5

"Wake up child," Udonna smiled as she, Althea, and the Rangers finally found the apprentice, who was lying outside of Rootcore, unconscious. Claire groaned, and looked up weakly, her mother's circlet in her hand. "It's over," she smiled, holding out her hands.

"Udonna...you're alive," Claire couldn't help but laugh as tears filled her eyes.

"A little frozen around the edges but yes, I'm alive," the rest caught up to the sorceress.

"Morticon's gone Claire," Nick told her as Maddie and Ari helped the girl up.

"For good," Xander added.

"Yeah, Udonna was able to channel her power through the Snow Staff to help us," Vida told her when Claire looked confused.

"But none of it would have been possible without your help Claire," Ari smiled at her as she stepped back. Claire blushed, as the others nodded, grinning at her.

"She's right," Xander agreed as he leaned on Ari's shoulder. The Gold Ranger rolled her eyes and folded her arms, feeling herself going red.

"You sealed the forces of evil back into the depths! You're like...a super-sorceress!" Chip told her, and the others laughed at his excitement. Claire giggled, going even redder.

"Yeah...I guess I am..." Claire nodded shyly, but her smile faded as she saw the circlet on the ground. She crouched down slowly and lifted it. "But that was my mother's power...and now it's all gone," Claire looked to her Aunt with a sad expression.

"Niella would be proud of you today," Udonna walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "And so am I," Claire managed a smile as the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

1-2-3-4-5

"I must say, I am looking forward to bed tonight," Althea announced as she walked through the main chamber of Rootcore, stretching. "I can only imagine how Claire and the Rangers are faring. Not to mention y..." Althea stopped as she saw Udonna standing with a ring in her hand. "Leanbow's ring..." Udonna glanced around as Althea walked over.

"Do you think Bowen could be out there somewhere?" Udonna spoke after a moment, looking back at the ring in her hand.

"I do. After all, Meraki found her way back, did she not?" Althea smiled softly at her old friend.

"But she was alone..." Udonna's voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"That just means that Daggeron and Bowen weren't with her. Who knows what happened to them?" Althea's voice quivered a little, and she cleared her throat. "Have faith, Udonna. You had faith that the Mystic Force would appear, and they did. We will find them," Althea promised.

"Udonna!" they both looked around as Claire ran in, looking excited. "I did it!" she told them with an excited smile.

"What is it Claire?" Udonna asked, returning the ring to the chest and shutting it over.

"I finally perfected my vanishing spell! Watch!" Claire cast the spell as they watched, and her top half disappeared, but left her legs still visible. "Oh..." Althea and Udonna tried not to laugh. "Ok, maybe not perfected," Claire groaned, stumbling off to try and fix it.

"So much like Niella," Althea looked to Udonna, and both started laughing.

* * *

**Only two chapters left until Long Ago! The next chapter, Scaredy Cat, was a lot of fun to write. I adore Jenji a lot.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Please review!**


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